Old 'hood, Groceries, and New Dude

1. We learned that the rental house 2 doors down from our old house -- have I already told you this? -- has new tenants, who, according to our source, have "sh!t all over the yard." We drove by there once, and even though it was nearly dark, we could see some sh!t. Trailers and bins... it was Whoa.

DH has thanked me a number of times for spearheading the Real Estate project and getting us out of there. It's satisfying. ;)

In fact, where we live now is continuing to grow, with large new neighborhoods popping up all over the place. Well, at least trees being mowed down in preparation for new neighborhoods. Traffic definitely feels thicker than it did this time last year, and it looks like there will be more influx of people/cars in the future. So far, it isn't unmanageable, but the window for leaving the house is NARROW. If we're not out of there between 6:45 and 7:05, forget it.

2. I'm so proud of us, for stretching our groceries to last 2 weeks. Last Sunday I just didn't go to Publix. Didn't feel like it? Knew we had enough? Had just paid bills and didn't wanna spend any more cash? Whatever it was. I did have to buy milk, bread, apples, ham, and some on-sale crackers for the kids' snacks, on Wednesday. But for the most part, we have been totally fine without spending my usual weekly $140 or so. Yesterday I had thawed chicken breasts in the fridge and I was certain they would be bad by 5:30 pm. So I tossed 'em in the crockpot before I left the house, with BBQ sauce, Zesty Italian, brown sugar, and voila! Shredded chicken bbq sandwiches for dinner. We happened to have burger buns on-hand. Other times in the week, we used leftovers wisely. ....Fine, I will admit that Monday was a bit of a bust; the kids had McDonald's milkshakes after school, and Spaghetti Ohs for dinner. The hipster/Paleo/bento-box moms do not approve! And speaking of boxes, more days than not, the kids' lunchboxes didn't include a fruit or vegetable. BUT STILL. I am happy about the whole deal. Tonight's dinner might have to be made from Bisquik, but I do have it, and milk! WIN.

3. New Dude at work: Takes notes, has been trained, has been given procedure documents... tells me this morning, "I don't remember all the steps." ARGH. (But he did give me a red pear, so I'm considering forgiveness.)

Clairey's

Kate has discovered The Mall. More specifically, Justice and Claire's (which she adorably called "Clairey's" this weekend, thinking the "e" was more than silent). We had to go there during Labor Day weekend, to pick up a wedding shower gift at Macy's, and since we had the day off, I just decided we'd walk around and explore. And... well, Kate insisted she needed go back this past weekend, too. :) We had smoothies from Smoothie King (had a coupon), visited Claire's and Justice and The Disney Store, and Bath and Body Works (all the important ones), sat down in one store and rested our feet from all the walking, ate lunch in the food court, gave in to frozen yogurt after lunch (I am a sucker), and then figured we'd had enough for one day!

Our mall isn't all that close to home, although we've taken the kids there a few times before. It's always fun for me to see their little minds blown over so many stores in one place. These last two times, Kate has commented on how good the mall smells. As soon as you open the door, you get this sweet whiff of shopping and cotton candy or something. I love it, too, and love that she loves it.

She's not interested in getting her ears pierced, although I won't be surprised if that comes up at Claire's in the next couple of years.

On a related note, something about girls-growing-up-too-fast, yesterday she sent this message to her Daddy from my phone, while I was busy doing something else:

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Totally unrelated book talk: Check out the awesome comments on this post. Sherry, need any more recommendations?? I got several from this discussion, namely I was reminded again of The Shell Seekers, which my mom has been urging me to read for oh, about 20 years now. !!

Schedule change

For years here, I've been saying, "I just don't know if I can do this flex-schedule again." So this year, I dropped it. I've maintained a 7:30 to 4:30 workday, and it's better. No more 5:00 alarm. No more stressful 3:30 rush to the 3:15 carpool line, only to be the very last one there. No more worrying if Shan thinks I'm cheating. The kids go to Aftercare every day, they do their homework there, mostly, and it's fine. Thumbs-up for eliminating unnecessary stress.

I had a heckuva week at work -- just mentally tiring. Lots of meetings. Wednesday night, we had an out-of-town work-guest to entertain, so I stayed at the office until 6:30 and then went to dinner with the team. Not a terrible evening - free meal and wine, after all - but wow, did it feel like a long day. I'm very glad I only do that rarely. And even more glad that Shawn's around and available to share dropoff and pickup duties with me every day -- I don't know how people do it when one parent travels a lot. Yesterday was my first choir rehearsal at 7pm, and we've shifted our gymnastics time to Thursdays at 6:30, so that was tricky, too (I take the kids, Shawn meets us there, I leave for choir, he takes them home). Two nights in a row not saying grace at the dinner table, and me not good night to the kids in person (or even on the phone). Sad trumpet.

It's fine, of course, just new. I'm hopeful that next week will feel a little more normal as far as the extracurriculars are concerned, but I'm also fully aware that we're deep in the kid-raising years right now, and it's going to be like this a little bit, until Alex can drive. I wonder if I need to say something to John about choir - like, maybe he just needs to not expect me to always be there. Last night I was so tired before the rehearsal started, and I sang LIKE CRAP (but I blame him for rehearsing pieces with high B-flats in the descants, gross). But in the end I was still glad I had gone. Mostly.

Alex is doing fine so far, but I've seen a few instances where I could tell he's stressed about fitting everything in: schoolwork, piano practice, gymnastics, clarinet (he joined the middle school band), Scouts, and the video gaming and YouTube videos about his gaming that he wants to produce... so we'll see how it all goes. So far they've not had any big school projects but WOE on that day.

However, today is Friday, my managers have all left for the day, I have some projects to keep me occupied until 4, Kate's having a friend over tonight (sweet Ady Grace), and I hope that means Shawn and I will be able to watch Justified. :) Weekend! It's supposed to be rainy, too -- BONUS!

On authority, and watching

I am watching from the sidelines as a project at my company is in the last planning stages and still not at all ready for launch. It's a new website. My original job here was to manage the company's US websites, both content and functionality. Since I started working here, of course, there have been major changes, and now we have a global e-commerce manager as well as other team members, so when this new site project was conceived, I was actually left out of it entirely. I felt strange and slightly offended about that, but I'm not in a position of authority and I presumed my team knew precisely what they were leaving out by forging ahead without me. Fine, whatever. They've given me a new title, anyway, and hired someone else for the website stuff. Good riddance.

However, I can't help but overhear and feel a lot of tension around the final days and leading into the launch, and I wonder if I should have spoken up or gotten involved. I couldn't have, without appearing intrusive, could I? Is intrusive or overstepping your bounds okay when it positions you as a "team player?" I don't know. I don't WANT the project to fail, but I fear it might. Or at the least, it's going be a huge and complicated mess. The dude they hired talks in circles, I think -- posturing, to make people THINK he's very smart -- and most of the time his words/ideas don't make sense. (I think most, if not all, successful people do that, by the way -- but some of them actually ARE smart, and others aren't.) Besides that, they've not given him all the information he actually needs. Besides THAT, he's never wrong, according to him. (I'm not bitter, I swear, but this personality type drives me bananas.) The manager in charge postures the same way -- and on top of it, she never follows through with her tasks. The tech guy on the other side of the pond thinks he can do it all by himself in the first place, and isn't very communicative.

On the one hand, I'm definitely glad that my name has not been "allowed" to be on the project -- it will not be my fault! On the other hand, I'm sure I'll be pulled in, to triage, troubleshoot or otherwise manage the mess, and that will tick me off, indeed.

Oh, corporate life. So ridiculous in so many ways.

So far, so good!

Week 1 of school was a rousing success...but they haven't had any real homework, yet. This week starts the real deal. I just looked online at the 2nd grade Homework planned for this week and it's a doozy! Spelling and Math tests, and worksheets every night. I can't even imagine how 6th grade will be, eek. So it's good we had a productive and relaxing weekend to gear up.

It ended with yesterday evening's trip to the pool with our friends, from about 4:00 until 7:00. We ate dinner there (country club For The Win!) and went out for ice cream afterwards. But first, the biggest news: Kate SWAM!! Underwater and everything, kicking her feet and coming up for air! I am  so proud of her. Of course she was hesitant when we left the house, not wanting to wear her floaties in front of other kids (Maren, 1 year older than Kate, in particular). I gave her a boost by telling her I hadn't even packed the floaties (she grinned and hugged me), but that Daddy and I would stay near her as much as she needed in the shallow end. She's fine on a kickboard or noodle, and can touch the bottom in the shallow end (barely, in this pool).

So I mostly sat on the steps with Emily and Shawn, and once in a while Kate wanted one of us to catch her or carry her, but she didn't cling to us like a little koala, which is what she has done all summer. Having Maren there helped; at one point, Maren asked why Kate couldn't go to the deep end and I think Kate was slightly embarrassed, but I helped answer the question and they both forgot about it and played anyway. Then toward the end of the evening, Kate was by herself in the shallow end, and I saw her practicing. She got better and better, swimming a little farther each time she went under. I could tell she had gotten determined. :) Goggles have been a key element for both of them; once they learned how clear everything looks underwater, they've wanted to see more. I'm just as thrilled for her as I was for Alex when he finally got it. All she needs is to get used to going longer distances, without stopping to put her feet down, and she'll be golden. We're going back to the pool as much as we can before they close it in September, I can tell you that much. Practice, practice, practice.

Who knew swimming would be such a major deal in the parenting gig? I never would have guessed!

9 Things on my Mind That Aren't Work

My mind needs an "Out of office" message today; no room for this job! I'm buzzing about:

1. A happy report from 2 kids who had good first half-days at school
2. Alex's signup for Band, meaning we'll have to either buy or rent an instrument of some sort here, soon
3. Kate's gymnastics camp and the school friend who also wants to sign up... but that we might need to move Kate to a different day, to accommodate Alex, who also wants to sign up, and for whom I would like a class that has more boys his age
4. My driving/flex schedule, and telling the kids I'm not doing carpool this year, instead they'll do Aftercare every day (if I do, indeed, decide that)
5. Is it too much? Monday - Boy Scouts, Wed - Girl Scouts and piano/choir, Thurs - gymnastics, plus instrument and piano practice?? OR is now the time for them to be digging in and finding out what they want to pursue in the future (somehow I think scouts might not last for either of them)?
6. PTO/vacation days - I think I will be able to accommodate several school holidays this fall and the Middle School Dances (committee member!), except for the day of Parent-Teacher Conferences, which is a student holiday (Darling Husband, can you take 10/23 off?)
7. Remaining PTO days and even The Holidays; yes, already thinking about that week off
8. The large piece of Harry and David milk chocolate sitting on my desk - should I eat it immediately or save it for an emergency chocolate situation?
9. Yoga - I've taken nearly an entire week off and I miss it. Even just the fifteen minutes at a time that I can manage. I want to get BETTER at it, too, but how/when?

So you can see there isn't any work getting done.

6th and 2nd Grades

Yesterday was School Orientation day. The little boy young man in our life, who squirmed nervously the night before his first day of Kindergarten, was assigned a middle school locker and a combination lock and will start 6th Grade. SIXTH! (It's fun, as you get older as a parent, and can actually remember your time in the grade your kid is entering. Sixth grade was a lot of fun for me and I'm praying he will love it, too.) He got a great teacher, I think, and yesterday his best friend's name was on the desk next to his own, so it's a happy start and he's curious/excited about the change to the Upper School Hallway, and all that entails.

The young lady in our life will start 2nd Grade, and once again, was pretty quiet when the teacher greeted her enthusiastically. She was also (rightfully) miffed at me, I think, because I left a lot of her supplies at home, whoops. They were the things that we are reusing from last year, like the purple pencil box, her headphones for computer lab and her old shirt for art class, but still, she couldn't check every single thing off the list on her desk. I would have been mad, too, but she got over it and when she went to bed last night the thing she was most concerned about is that she has to sit next to ALL BOYS. Smart teacher, I say. ;)

The mama was exhausted after our morning! Lugging textbooks up and down the hills and stairs was one thing, but the locker hallway was entirely another. I had to find scissors to undo the locker shelf from its stupidly-secure packaging; there wasn't enough room for everyone's backpacks and supplies so I kept having to get up and return to the classroom, then back to the locker; the locker wouldn't shut all the way; I saw a LOT of friends and fellow parents but didn't have ONE MINUTE to talk to any of them because of the kids and siblings everywhere. It made me think of high school, and how awful and crowded those halls were between classes. And it was like we didn't even notice! We WANTED to run into people, and walk by the boys we had crushes on, and hope they said hello! If I had to go through those kinds of crowds NOW on a daily basis.... ugh. But not kids - they'll thrive on all the energy and possibility.

So it was fun yesterday but it was HOT; someone had left the outside doors open and the AC was definitely not apparent. And finally, we missed some classmates who've left this year -- a lot of them, it seems. For valid reasons, but still... going into our seventh year together, with some key people missing, doesn't feel quite right. At least they still live nearby. In fact, I'm having lunch with my favorite mamas today, so we'll get to hear how the missing ones' kids are adjusting (they've been back in class all week already).

Off we go! Monday, ahoy!

Gifts we've given Hailey (so I don't repeat)

--age 1 birthday: Ball Popper!
--age 15 months Xmas: Melissa and Doug cookies set
--age 2 birthday: Disney Baby Princess. It was Aurora (pink).
--age 2.25 Christmas: Build-a-Bear pink bear with outfit
--age 3 birthday: Princess Cupcakes stacking game and Color Wonder markers set (princesses)
--age 3.25 Christmas: Sofia the First puzzles, clothes.

Solutions for Summer Blues

I scheduled this post back in January, when I was reading Swistle's brilliance about recognizing her Low Times.

So I've linked it there, to go back and see if any of the strategies she uses, or her commenters use, will help me remember: What you are feeling, Lee, is just a low period and it will pass. Be patient with yourself. 

And one other thing: Remember that next summer, you can hire a nanny instead. Try it. Some camps, some nannies.

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It's funny because I AM feeling a lot of ennui the last 2 days, but not for the "summer blues" reason of kids being bored at daycare camp and me not being able to have fun with them. It's more a my office thing, with its usual stupidity. Just like that time several months ago when I had no boss and no manager and no direction. The same is happening again, since they've iced me out of part of my job (the U.S. part) and that manager never has bothered to "connect" with me personally in the first place, and the new part of the job, (the Global Content Specialist part, sounds fancy, doesn't it?) hasn't started yet and so I'm not being invited to those meetings either. AND everyone is out. A couple of coworkers are traveling, one has been out on medical leave since June 30 (I think she's back next week), and the other has been out all this week with a combination of vacation/off-site meetings/sick days. I don't like the New Guy. It's just that the FRIENDS situation at work is lacking. SORELY lacking, I would say. My one really good friend, Shan, is about to take another job, I just know it. I'm happy for her. Jealous, too. But geez, she's the only person I'm comfortable going to lunch with! Seriously. Oh, bah. I'm done whining.

Little stuff and big stuff

Well, that's that for slowed-down summertime! This week, we've amped right back up to normal speed, and I have a full week of errands to run and things to do. This isn't necessarily bad, but did cause me to grab a sheet of paper last night to write it all down before I forgot.

• Uniforms - I'm hopeful that Alex will have at least one pair of correct pants and a shirt, and shoes, for the first week (he has to have all new uniform colors this year for middle school). Eek. Kate needs one more plaid jumper, too - tried them on  yesterday and... nope. I didn't intend to let it go this late, but on the other hand, I wasn't thinking of mid-July as that "late" for planning for the next schoolyear. 
• Pest control. Gotta be done, and it's definitely my turn for serviceman duty at the house. No biggie; I plan to put something in the crock pot (shredded BBQ chicken) while I'm there waiting for him on Thursday.
• Call to schedule Kate's gymnastics class for fall. -DONE!
• Pickup the kids' finished pottery at the Art Camp location - Calling on Shawn to handle this one, please, since it's closer to his office.
• School supplies - Kate and I bought hers this weekend because she saw the printed list and got excited about it (I don't blame her, it's the best part of Back to School), but Alex wasn't home from Scout camp yet. He came home Saturday afternoon.
• Middle School Dance Committee - I forgot I had scheduled a meeting this week of the moms on this committee; really another way of saying "dinner out with my friends," but talking about this volunteer job is going to get me a little panicky, I think. It's a big job as it turns out, and I'm not sure why I agreed to it. At least there are 3 of us.
• Having friends over Friday night! Why not?! They just moved to our neck of the woods and I was hoping to relieve them of having to cook/plan during those first few weeks of unpacking. I remember those nights from our move last year. I really like the couple (...I think our kids like/tolerate their kids), but as it turns out, it's kind-of a crazy week to do this. Oh well! Nothing like anticipating company for a housecleaning motivator.... so perhaps some vacuuming downstairs is also on the plan for this week, wheee!

In other news, I have had several heart-to-hearts with my sweet Kate-Kate this weekend/week --  some triggered by good things and I will leave it to your imagination for how the rest were triggered -- but gosh, do I love that challenging little girl. I said to her last night that being a parent, raising a person, can sometimes be so HARD for parents, and we don't always know what to do. Honesty, right? She was crying over something, and sobbed, "But WHY is it so hard to just RAISE somebody???" Why, indeed. She couldn't fathom. I suppose none of us can, until we do it. But gosh, it IS so hard, isn't it? Knowing what to say, and how to say it? And how not to say it? She's growing up before my eyes, and I know that because even through her fits and stubbornness, she's starting to feel right and wrong, and more important, empathy. She frequently tells me, after an episode, that she's worried she's hurt us, Shawn and me, by being disrespectful. Yesterday I got to tell her, "YOU ARE LOVED, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. You can't ruin that or mess that up, ever. Period." ....I can't put into words how honored I felt to teach that big and significant lesson, both in words and in actions. And grateful for the grace of that moment.

It's excellent timing before her First Penance next spring, too. She'll be ready, I think. Age of Reason. Pretty smart, Catholicism.

Also interesting re: Saint Claude de la Columbiere.

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Back to my busy week, I guess, but I'm basking in the big stuff to reflect on, to keep perspective. Grace. Love. We can't mess up badly enough to ruin it. We do make mistakes, but we're still loved absolutely.

Job-y

Small things in the grand scheme but I need to vent a few thoughts about work today. Not the way I usually do! Just about the way my company seems to operate. UGH. You won't believe it.

In the last 2 weeks it was decided to split my job description in half and hire someone to replace one half of my function, without telling me beforehand. They told me on a Friday, New Guy started the very next Monday.

This is bad enough on its own. But they way they're treating and "training" him -- and I use the terms very loosely -- is frustrating me even more. On his first day, my manager set up three meetings, me with New Guy. Not her, too -- no "leadership" involved, just hello, here is your replacement, start training him. No instruction about these meetings, just a title that appeared in my calendar. "B2B training, 10:00 am." No pre-training discussion at all about how these responsibilities are going to be divided in the future, if I'm handing them off completely or if/how we will split the tasks. I don't know what New Guy knows, or what he doesn't. So I did the sessions, but he hadn't yet had any BASIC company training, like WHAT PRODUCTS WE SELL, or anything. It's... been a cluster.

Aside from that, his 2nd day here, his (my) manager was out of town. She had scheduled him a few meetings, I guess, but I think he was floating around, mostly unsure what to do. I know he left early that day with her blessing (via email), because she didn't have anything else for him. Fine, understandable. Did I mention he was taking notes on printer paper he scrounged up? He was given no supplies. No legal pad. No company catalog. Nothing to study besides what I had emailed him for our "trainings." Nothing.

Today he asked me, "Is there like, a microwave around where I can warm up something?" AYFKM?! I would have done these types of things -- building tour, product catalog introduction -- but I wasn't given a copy of his schedule and didn't know if someone else was already doing it. I assumed they were but GUESS WHAT? Nope.

Finally yesterday, I think my role has been sorted out by my new bosses. There was definitely miscommunication among upper management because my current boss and my future bosses had differing opinions about my tasks. The timeline for "transition" has been established. I'm to keep working on my same stuff, status quo, until Sept 30, and train/transition as necessary. After that, I leave X, X, and X responsibilities behind and do only Y responsibilities. I will be suuuuuuper grateful for that day. In the meantime I have to decide when/how to train and share my stuff, because apparently no one else will tell me. That's fine, I am a responsible person and could manage a team better than they are, obviously, so I can manage this, but ZOMG, as we  used to say.

ZOMG.

Home decor, yippie!

We just ordered this pretty patio table and chairs set, on sale, for delivery next week. And an umbrella. YAY!! I am so excited for dinners and weekend mornings outside. Shawn said he expects to always be asking "Where's your Mom?" and the kids to answer, "Outside on the patio," after we get this set...since I've insisted we get it so... heartily.

He and I have been having so much fun homecaring the last week or so, since coming back from vacation, that it's really starting to feel like "We have a beautiful home we are proud of." This makes me happy. We've bought and hung (expensive-ish) framed art, put up some curtains in the main living room, cleaned top to bottom, including the front porch ceiling, columns and windows, and picked up the kids' crap which is usually everywhere. God love 'em. I hope they don't feel like they can't just BE, in the house. We don't nag too much, I don't think. When Kate's stuff multiplies we just pile it up on the bench in the den and ask her to take it upstairs. Sometimes she does that. Sometimes we even help her. And shoes. Socks and shoes seem to also fly all over the house and land in the middles of rooms.

Mom and Dad are planning to haul their piano, which was Grandmother's piano, to our house soon. I am excited about this, definitely. I've never "wanted" it before because I really didn't have any place for it. Now I actually have a place, and really, have wanted it all along. How awesome will it be to have a real piano, and the one I played as a child? I think THAT room will start to feel like a grown-up living room, as well, as soon as it's installed. I am a bit sorry for them, not to have a piano at their house anymore. But Mom says no one ever plays it down there, so I'm trying not to be sad. Nor think about the general idea that they're giving me big furniture, as generations do... nope, not thinking about that.

Next up on the projects list: A gallery wall upstairs. We have some items ready for it, and have Pinterested some ideas and tips for inspiration. Just need to find the time to work on it and hammer those holes into the wall. :) We still need to figure out a bookshelf solution for the guest room/play room. And last on my list is to find something new to hang over the bed in the master bedroom.

Well, not last. There's never really a last project with a home, is there? Thank goodness. More fun to come. Future projects: extend the back patio slab (and make it nicer-looking), which will then require fixing/replacing the fence on that side of the house... Fire Pit and comfy chairs around it... this morning I was thinking about a little running bird-bath / water-feature.... lots in the backyard, it would seem!

Chocolate Soft-Serve at Lunch, and Keeping These Records

Just walked to lunch. There's a Jason's Deli near my office. Just a ten-minute little hike over a hilly parking lot. Makes for feelings of accomplishment and full-tummy, with a side of "virtuous," because: Salad Bar. I even skipped the potato/pasta salads and the muffins. Not the soft-serve, though. Life's too short. Lunch dessert for the win.

Am spending my workday answering the backlog of customer service emails that came in through the website while I was on vacation. LOTS of emails. Lots of whiny slash helpless customers. "How do I find a store in my town?" You might consider the giant STORE LOCATOR button, durrrr. It's easier to see than "Contact Us;" I don't understand you or your bad eyes. Since the Contact Us form is technically part of the website content, it falls to me to triage the emails, but I think that's a crock. I didn't sign up for customer service. Two weeks ago, some lady wrote back in, telling me how quickly she was going to become an [Our Competitor] customer due to the "flippant, dismissive reply" she claims I emailed her. It wasn't flippant. She made me roll my eyes.

But enough about that. Work hasn't been so bad; yesterday on my return, all the bosses/managers were away! So I was able to read blogs AND get a few things done, and no one bothered me or created additional projects or meetings. Win. The kids are at Mom and Dad's this week having a ball, I'm sure, so there was no pressure to be anywhere or pick anyone up or entertain them AFTER the long workday, and that was very nice, too. Shawn and I had dinner out (Mexican, of course), then he went to a Scout meeting and I went to Target. Alone. With no time constraints. I didn't shop as much as I could have, but it did feel very [weird and] nice to be so freed.

I'm trying to decide if it's time to pitch some (or all) of my old journals. Some of them are so old that they have really, truly stupid (pre-teen and worse) boy-crazy nonsense in them. Kate got into the shelf where I have them tucked away recently, and I definitely did NOT want her reading that garbage. Nor do I think I want to read them ever again. But on the other hand... it's me, you know? My heart, poured out on paper. Who I was, informing who I am. A bit of a record if my ancestors ever want to know the details about the Sadie Hawkins dance of 1989 or anything (ha, I'm only using that as an example; there weren't any notable details). I guess part of me wonders if it's at all valuable for future historians (no). Or for a novel (that I will never ever write).

The other part likes throwing unnecessary things away and would feel very much lighter without all those PAGES. I don't know. I was reading some entries last night, from around 1999, right before I met Shawn. It was interesting to see how my brain was working at the time. In my loneliness (I'll admit) without a boyfriend, I had gotten very involved in the church singles group and even a retreat group, partly because there was a cute boy also involved. Gag. He's now a priest, by the way. I even took a weekly shift in the Adoration Chapel and would sometimes journal in there, so it's very prayer-y, trying to see God's hand in the events of the day, trying to be cautiously hopeful about the boy but still writing girly, crushy things, and... I was growing in faith but that's something so personal, it was even uncomfortable for ME to read it again now. Of course the later entries, after Shawn and I had just met and started dating, are fun to have as a record of/for our family, but again, does anyone else need to read this stuff? No. Anyway, it made me roll my eyes at my young self and want to pat her head at the same time, to let her know not to worry. Silly.

I have more to say but probably better stop here.

4 More Days...

Have I mentioned how much I MISS ALEX??? A lot. Alot, a lot. I want him back home with us, and I'm glad there are now only 4 more days until he will be here to request taco night and stare at his DS for hours on end. We, of course, have seen plenty of the aforementioned happy-kid pictures (refresh.... refresh), and even received a postcard from him, so I know he's enjoying himself. But still.

We had a nice week last week, and I had a nice 41st birthday. I was determined to enjoy the heck out of my day, even though it was a workday. Because we were "slow-living," Kate had time to kick me out of her room for a minute before breakfast ("I need to ... do something, Mommy..."). When she emerged, she had hidden behind her back a homemade birthday card, made with a gray marker on loose leaf paper. So sweet. She signed it, "Kate Kate," since I'm still allowed to call her that... occasionally. The weather was cool and cloudy, just the way I like it. Shawn gave me a gift card to the spa, which I want to schedule ASAP. For lunch, I had a bologna sandwich. That was funny. I was trying not to feel sorry for myself that all my co-workers, who might've taken me to lunch, were away in Europe. And I didn't. Actually, I'd rather they all be away in Europe, ha! So that was actually a gift. My manager even had flowers sent -- a yellow begonia plant that I hope I won't kill with my black thumb. The colleague who bought/delivered it told me she chose it because the color was bright and cheery, like me. Hahahaha! I laughed and said, "I hope so! Some days!" but what a compliment! A gift, to be told I'm seen that way, when I certainly don't feel like I project "cheer" around the office! After work and gymnastics camp, we went to dinner at the local delicious Cajun place and ate until we felt sick. (I think this is good?) There were both a molten lava chocolate cake and a pink vodka drink.

The rest of the week was equally fine. Kate enjoyed her time at gymnastics camp, I think, and made a new friend, who lives in our neighborhood! On Friday evening, the two of them played in the cul-de-sac and I met the parents. We exchanged cell phone #s so now we're friends, I guess. ;) It's great for her to find someone to play with! I hope they'll make lots of memories together. Tuesday evening, Kate and I swam at the Country Club. Just to check it out, you know. It was good! I accidentally talked to another mom, just for a minute, after her son looked like he might drown and I offered him a hand. She seemed nice. We intended to go back yesterday, but after a sleepover, Kate was invited to swim at their country club instead. The fancy-pants one, to which it seems a lot of her classmates' parents belong. She had fun and was well worn-out last night, crying spectacularly at bedtime to prove it.

This week (it's Monday, boooo), more of the same. Except the coworkers are back and so I'm  fast-living again. ;) Meh. Not complaining. Work, Shmerk, right? Type type type and act happy and collect the money (and carefully monitor the interesting "Senior Copywriter - Virtual" job op I've recently seen) ....and go home to the actual life. It's all one reality, but the good part is clearly good. No need to dwell on the other.

Slow(er) living for one week

Today my morning was wonderful. Kate's gymnastics camp doesn't start in the mornings until 8:30, and is closer to home than to work. So I woke up at the normal time, got dressed and made coffee, and checked my email while letting her sleep in. Luxury! She slept until 7:00, and then we had plenty of time for breakfast together (scrambled eggs and a bowl of fruit), and sitting on the front porch before we left the house. It's going to be a great week of this kind of slow living.

Alex is safely at Winshape for the next 12 days. When we left, it was thunderstorming and he was concerned. And maybe a little emotional/nervous, also. Not sure why since he's been there 3x before, but Dad made a good point, that maybe he realizes what he's missing at home, now that he's older. Poor kid. I hated to leave him while that was going on but I don't think the storm lasted long, and they like the parents to get the kids in, then get outta town. No dawdling. I know he's going to have a great time. Horseback riding, Swimming, Tennis, and Secret Ops are some of his "skills." I can't wait for pictures (just tried to login to the secure site and yesterday's are not uploaded yet... refresh...refresh...I'm feeling very impatient. Need to see the kid's smile to reassure me).

A few Friday tidbits

Sent in our application for "The Club." It's just money, right, Shawn? (I still don't think he's convinced or happy about it, but he agreed to try it for one year. Compromise.) Swimming pool, ahoy! Waiting with bated breath for them to get back to me. Saw a picture/video on FB of the End-of-School Pool Party and it was stupid crowded! Ack. I hope it's not like that all the time. We'll have to be choosy about when we go. Also saw some flyers for upcoming events. They're doing a Father's Day Picnic on the Lawn, and a June 5 Wine Tasting event... doesn't sound too terrible. One champagne event I saw would, all by itself, reach the minimum food/beverage spend of $150/quarter (it was $75 per adult ticket). Date nights, ahoy, too! We'll see how it shakes out.

Can you join a social Club and not have to talk to anyone? (Haha, Only kidding....) (Mostly.)

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Yesterday afternoon I had a brief rehearsal for a wedding at which I've been asked to sing this June. It was a rehearsal with the violinist. Kind-of weird since... no piano accompanist. But the mother of the bride, who's coordinating everything, really wanted us to meet. I'm a pretty confident soloist these days; I sing frequently at church, I'm 40 and I've been singing since I was 12, and it's NBD anymore. Well, right before I left for the practice (at this guy's house), I made the mistake of Googling his name + violin. Turns out he's the Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. !! Got a tad nervous at that point. Eep! A real live professional musician, and... little ol' me.

In the end, nothing at all to worry about. He was very kind, his wife and 3 kids were there, too, and I was "in good voice." I think my particular voice is well-suited to sing with violin -- something about the two timbres together works, which I was not aware of. I didn't even screw up. I think I appeared to be qualified. HA! We'll be in a pretty large church downtown in Atl., not miked, but hopefully the acoustic will carry my not-so-big sound well enough to be heard.

It was so fun to pretend to be a legit musician. Just hanging out, 1/2 hour practice with my legit musician friend. From the ASO. You know. Do this all the time.

(Squeeeeeee)

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I'm hoping Ann won't text me today about walking, since I desperately need to make a run to WalMart to return some shorts that Kate didn't like (the girl is difficult to buy for and has no shorts for summer! Just bike shorts, which she insists on wearing with regular (short) t-shirts, a look which I do not approve) -- and get stuff for Alex for camp. Plus, I forgot my shoes (on purpose). Plus-plus, it's too hot.

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Alex leaves for camp on Sunday. I haven't begun ANYTHING for it, not laundry, not care packages and cards (we leave them there when we drop him off so everything has to be done in advance), nothing. I'm sensing a bit of hesitance on his part, this year. Like two weeks seems too long and maybe he doesn't want to go. But he has said, and I know, that he'll have a blast and 2 weeks will fly by for him. Oh, this "letting go" thing of parenting. Do not like.

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How are all you people?

Here we go...

And so begins summer! The kids both slept until 6:15 (instead of 6). They got to choose their own clothes this morning and we were able to take things just a touch more slowly (we weren't leaving the house until 7:00, as opposed to 6:45 during the schoolyear). No lunchboxes required this week! These are tiny things, yes, but I am letting them make a difference to me, because they do. The morning rush was just slightly nicer.

Oh, I know this summer is going to FLY. Except that 2nd week of Alex being away at Winshape when I'm missing him most (and Kate will be missing him by that time, too, I predict). The kids know the June schedule by heart at this point. This week, KRK. Next week, Winshape and Gymnastics. Week after, Winshape and KRK. Week after, Art Camp. Then BEACH WEEK! They're excited about all of it, I think.

Today I wrote down a few Summer Goals, hopefully fun things, inspired by another mom's blog post. They are:

1. Finish the Easter puzzle! It's sitting on our dining room table looking sad. The kids suggested this morning that we should come in after camp, get a snack and work on it together for 10 minutes a day. I am liking that idea! How are they so smart?! 
2. Bike riding. I would really, really love for both kids to learn to ride bikes without training wheels this summer. Shawn, would you be okay with them riding in the backyard? Maybe around the perimeter to damage the grass a little less? And, we'd need to pick up a new used bike for Alex, who has totally outgrown his current bike.  
3. Reading. I think I'd like to assign that they each read/finish 4 chapter books on their own. Could be summer reading assignments for school, but manga, anime and comic books don't count in this instance (usually I let them count). Maybe I'll incentivize this with a gift card to Barnes and Noble if they accomplish it.  
4. Swimming (Kate). It would be awesome if she'd get over her fear of going all the way under. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't, and that's fine, but we could work on it. 
5. [Screentime Limits]. Ay-yi-yi. YouTube videos and Nintendo DS are trying to burn themselves onto Alex's retina and he willingly sits there glass-eyed, letting them in. I don't know how, but I've got to got to got to limit his time on the devices when he's home with us. At Winshape and Boy Scout camp, it's not allowed, so no problem there. And at my mom and dad's and even the beach, I'm happy to let the rules relax a little, but.... I just can't have him spending whole days, like he did over Memorial Day weekend, with his head down. Meanwhile, he's saying he would like his OWN YouTube channel to upload [nonsense] he finds interesting, like  his commentary while opening Buddy Fight card packs, and his narration of the playing of video games. This is what the 10-year-old boys find fascinating. One, why?!?, and two, how to allow this with all the right safety rules while still allowing it be "his" thing? And it's more time at the computer/device, of course, to create the stupid videos. I suppose it could make him a six-figure salary like it has other "Internet rock stars," but.... Urgh. All the way around.

 Still: Have I mentioned I'm sooooo glad to have a break from homework? I AM SO GLAD.

To Club or not to Club?

Before we bought our house, I inquired at the neighborhood across the street, which has a golf/tennis/pool/country club, if non-residents could be members. They said yes. We didn't have time last summer to take it any further, but as THIS summer gets closer, I'm somehow wanting a place for us to swim. On the weekends, in the evenings after long days at work or daycare or camp, I just feel like it would be nice to have somewhere to swim. (We bought a slip'n slide last summer, in lieu of having a place to swim, and I think Shawn would agree we don't really want to do that to our yard again. It kind-of kills the grass. And makes us nervous about wasting water, besides.)

I went to the Country Club this morning and walked around with the Membership Director. Who was, by the way, about 30 years old, if that, and wearing a hoodie, tennis shoes, glasses, and her hair was normal. Not coiffed. She was not AT ALL how you would have pictured her. She wants to have a Star Wars movie-on-the-lawn event, which told me just about all I needed to know. I liked her, is what I'm saying. She seemed like a normal person. I realize she'd be considered "The Help," if there were any rude, snotty people involved, but I liked her. I saw the stodgy retirees playing golf on a Wednesday morning, no surprise, but, well... I won't ever be there on a Wednesday morning! And I did not need to polish my one piece of monogrammed silver jewelry before I left this morning, is what I determined. Hee hee.

I think our hesitation is, are we "Club" people or not? We don't feel like we are. (Although we could have easily bought a house in that neighborhood, I guess.) Friends who know the area tell me that this particular club isn't the hoity-toity one -- and it obviously isn't, since we don't have to be recommended or invited by an already-approved club member in order to join. It doesn't even look like we'd have to dress up TOO much -- she did say that for some weekend dinners it's tablecloths and "dressier" but also that, if you're swimming, you can throw on a cover-up and come eat lunch in the dining room.

The fees for a social/pool membership are, I think, entirely reasonable. But would we choose to have dinner or a drink there, or would we just be going there because we have to achieve the minimum food and beverage spend? That, I don't know, and there's no way TO know unless we try it.

I would like to take my Mom and Dad there for Sunday brunch, when they visit. ;) And the kids to swim. And maybe that Star Wars movie!

Friends are like flowers....beauuuuutiful flowers...

(HA!! I hadn't thought of that refrain in a long time, but when I put my cursor in the Title box and thought about my topic, that is what came out! "Songprayers" 1981, for the win!)

Friends are good to have around. Especially slightly pushy, but overly complimentary and athletic friends.

Ann has been telling me for weeks that my little bit of weight loss is showing in my face. So complimentary.

Ann has,as you know, just been a kidney donor, and recovered from that, and is not-so-secretly jealous that I've been losing weight while she has been gaining it.

Ann is also the mother of the bride, this June, and eager to get 20 pounds removed from her person. (Ann does not need to do anything at all. She is lovely.)

So anyway, she pulled up to my parked car the other day while I was doing my volunteer job at the school, and talked to me through her open window. Or, I should say, she talked at me, about how she really thinks I look great, and she just "needs the accountability, you know...? and are you doing WeightWatchers? and [she] looooooves to walk... and used to walk with a friend who.... well, never mind..." and.... I think what happened next was that I agreed that she and I would start walking at my office building at noon on Mondays and Fridays.

Just like that. ("I'm just a girl who can't say no, I'm in a turrible fix!")

It's great to have an appointment to workout, especially since I've been lamenting and wishing I could stick with an exercise plan... but not sticking with it, or even starting it, on my own. And it's super-great (sarcasm) to walk with someone who walks JUST about a minute per mile faster than I walk (or else it's the 2 inches height she's got on me). She won't slow down to stay with me, so I am forced to go faster than I would normally go and yet I still stay about 6 inches behind her. Ugh. But we've walked twice now and I'm glad. Also scared because I get the feeling we're doing this now, for good, even when it starts to get stupid hot in Georgia summer. Eeks.

Today, cooling off in the office locker room after our 2 miles in 27 minutes (!), I remembered when I was spending lots of my time in there, and I smiled with the idea of getting back to feeling smug and in my fitness "zone." 

Anniversary

Fourteen is my lucky number.

And on this day, fourteen years ago, right now, I was having my hair done for my role as THE BRIDE. What a lucky girl I have been, then and now.

This morning I woke up, gathered up my gift and card to take downstairs to the kitchen table to leave waiting for him, when he got up. Of course, he had already beaten me to the punch, and I found a gift bag with my name on it right by the coffeemaker, where he knew I would see it. Two beautiful new charms for my Pandora bracelet, exactly the ones I was hoping for. (He's been filling up charm bracelets for me since we started this gig, the first one being a tiny diamond-ring-shaped one, the night he proposed.)

I don't know how to say all the things I feel about our marriage and our relationship, and they're not the things for a blog anyway, really, but this morning I am definitely thinking about us, reading the tales and memories I've managed to capture, and how it has been so perfect all these years. I want to bathe in it. I feel secure in it.

You still make me laugh. You make me smile (even when I don't want to). We go well together -- work, play, tedious or exceptional days. That's love, that's marriage. That's all there is to it. xo

Shawn & Lee

Est. 4.28.01