guess what the last thing you are thinking of is?
whether or not you look fat
so, that is one upside
the downside?
everything else... haha... just kidding (kind of)
the downside is discovering that people who should treat you with respect (at the minimum) don't
maybe because they don't know how to
but also because they are way too busy protecting their egos
sometimes when you start to solve a problem that other people have deemed unsolvable
only because they were not able to solve it
those people will lose their shit if you dare to think you might have a workable solution
they'll do just about anything to prevent you from being able to prove them wrong
even if it requires them to sabotage their own offspring's welfare to stop you
sometimes the truth is so much more disturbing than you ever imagined
and you'd already imagined it to be pretty damn fucked up
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
What Up
It's like we've been thrown into a bad bad episode of Jersey Shore or something.
It's definitely a hot bed and I forgot all about my fake/real mentor,
because "What Would Julie Do?"...
um... I wish I knew. Seriously. Cleaning up this mess is like 10 full time jobs.
It's so crazy that the girls have often called out from their crafts, or reading, or whatever with...
"You know what the smartest thing to do would be?" and then they'll lay down the truth.
And we're like... word.
Some things are obvious to everyone but the person that needs to see it.
It's definitely a hot bed and I forgot all about my fake/real mentor,
because "What Would Julie Do?"...
um... I wish I knew. Seriously. Cleaning up this mess is like 10 full time jobs.
It's so crazy that the girls have often called out from their crafts, or reading, or whatever with...
"You know what the smartest thing to do would be?" and then they'll lay down the truth.
And we're like... word.
Some things are obvious to everyone but the person that needs to see it.
Friday, November 23, 2012
On This Day After Thanksgiving
I am thankful that I am an adult and when people are narcissistic raging assholes that NEVER change...
I can divorce them from my life.
I can divorce them from my life.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Dear World
This is why blogging is difficult:
#1 I have not been working out and I feel terrible about it. Ever since the mousescapades I can't go on my treadmill. Mr F tried to pretend that they magically disappeared when he removed their habitat (insulation)... but I knew better. By now there are probably an entire nation of them and they are plotting their extensive upstairs infiltration plan as we speak.
#2A School has been on an upswing. I'm really not sure what we'll do next year, though. Kid is getting all As which is fantastic, but we still have 2 hours of homework a night and at least one weekly breakdown (usually on Memory test prep night). The fact is that this is only 4th grade and the homework situation is only going to get worse next year. For the most part I'm cool with the academics, but the teacher is not a good teacher and I still have to reteach her everything after school. Add to that the fact that next year Baby will also have homework and I just don't know that this is a feasible situation. Kid currently leaves the house for school at 7:35 AM and is done with homework at 6:00 PM... between school, commuting, and homework she is putting in 10 hours and 25 minutes toward school every single day. She is only awake for 14 hours. You know? It just isn't a good life balance. Plus, she doesn't have weekends off... we have 2 hours of homework to do on Saturday AND Sunday every single weekend. Plus, while she has made 2 good friends, they are Korean exchange students that are going back to Korea next semester. That whole thing is very interesting, and telling. It is not a coincidence that she chose them. As she said "It's like playing with deaf kids that don't know sign language." Which means, it's fun and light and superficial. There is no drama, there are no feelings getting hurt, there are no playdates, or disappointments. I said "You know, I wonder if you would have liked being a boy. They seem to be able to just play at recess without it being a big deal." "Yes!!!" She said. Being a girl (especially these days, and especially at this age) is different, there are a lot of politics and it just doesn't appeal to her. I actually respect and am in awe of her ability to avoid and disengage from that. I still can't do it. She created with the Koreans exactly what she was looking for... fun with no strings attached. They love her and she loves them and there is never any drama.
(I actually wonder if her boy craziness is in large part an interest and wish to be part of their fun and playing... I do wish girls could have that freedom more)
#2B Baby loves school and is enjoying her Lutheran indoctrination (and I'm not joking... she digs it). She is doing well and has made good friends and fits in well socially. BUT She was identified (by them) as "very gifted in higher order thinking" in their Kindergarten testing for conferences and this school couldn't be a worse fit for that. It is a great fit for a shy anxiety prone middle schooler that likes things very organized and cookie cutter so she can more easily manage ... but... not so much for a think-outside-the-box creative type. I think I mentioned her ability to draw and write (without any compromise in detail or ability) upside down or to a sideways orientation if she wants? Yeah, something is going on in that noggin. She has a fantastic teacher that is actually teaching her things and a wonderfully small class (7 kids), but next year she'd be funneled into a 24 kids 1st grade and have to sit in her desk all day. There is a school for the gifted in Ann Arbor BUT it's twice what we are paying now for both girls to attend this school... which makes it, technically, 4 times what we can realistically afford on an ongoing basis. Gah!
#3 I'm looking at homeschooling again, which will allow us to pursue the things that are more stimulating to her (and be able to afford and have time for extracurriculars). But as I said to the girls... "if we are homeschooling next year we are homeschooling for excellence". Baby now likes to chime in with "for excellence!" anytime I say homeschooling, now. Which may mean the use of specialized tutors for some subjects. Now that I know what Kid is capable of... we're going for it. There are a lot of great advantages to homeschooling including some awesome programs that allow you to finish an Associate's degree by the time you graduate high school. Plus, this school they're in is a small school. We could try homeschooling next year (my first year juggling two curriculums) and if it isn't great or if we don't think it is better than the school, we can always put them back in. They can go in at anytime and they'll know everyone and it won't be starting back from scratch. Kid is in favor of homeschooling, and I know when the Koreans go home she's going to really struggle to stay in until the end of the year (which we are 100% doing at this point). Baby is willing to try it if it means she can participate in gymnastics and dance (which she'd have to give up if she went to 1st grade at St. Paul because of time constraints and cost). So that is that. I'm heavily researching different curriculum options which is something I find very interesting... so that's fun.
#4 We are trying to adopt! A 25 year old! Things might not pan out but we are hoping to be able to give a good safe place to land and start things over to someone we care about. The kids are excited, and as I said to Mr F "It'll be good practice for adopting". Plus I could use the company, this lifestyle... of driving all over town all day long can get very lonely. I actually thought about trying to train Big Boy to be my car companion. Mr F told me that no cat would like that... but I've found plenty of YouTube evidence to prove otherwise!
#5 I have been listening to an old Tony Robbins motivational CD in the car. People, he says some profound stuff. And this was an OLD one... he's gotten his schtick much more refined. Still this was the take away:
If you are in a negative interaction you can change your perception or change your participation.
People, that's Big Time. I'm really working on that.
I'm also really working on my new catch phrase that I created for my real (but very much embellished for my own inspirational purposes) friend/ mentor (unbeknownst to her):
"That's a hot bed and I'm not going to lie in it"
I think that can catch on.... feel free to spread it around. It's such a great visual. I'm using that all the time.
More on my real/imaginary friend/mentor later. Her name is Julie and she is really an amazing person. But I've made her more amazing in my mind. I don't think she'll mind. I also like to pull a WWJD? with her when I know I'm entering a toxic situation. Her name is Julie so the WWJD? works perfectly. Usually my imaginary Julie response is "That's a hot bed and I'm not going to lie in it!". This makes me laugh hysterically... but you know.... she's on to something. Try it. That phrase is empowering.
Also, on a similar front I've spent an awful lot of time worrying about Kid and her social life. And some of these revelations (the boy thing, the Koreans, my fake/real mentor and her fake slogan, Tony Robbins, etc) has all come together and made me think about my own projections. Kid did not come out as a child. She came out as a Julie! She already knows a hot bed when she sees it and she sure as hell is not going to lie in it. I on the other hand am still working on the impulse to ask the occupants to roll over so I can squeeze myself in. Kid knows herself more and is more comfortable with herself than I've ever been. She has had MANY social opportunities, and she does have friends, but more often than not (nearly 99.5% of the time) she doesn't like groups of girls (which at 10 is the option), doesn't like parties, or large gatherings where you don't know how to quite fit in, she doesn't like extracurricular meet ups or classes. She likes to play anonymously on a playground, or at a 2 week summer camp where there are not huge emotional strings attached, or have a one on one playdate with a couple of kids she's invested in. She's fulfilled by that. And any need I think she has beyond that is not about her but about me.
Okay, that's a lot.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
More House Makeovers
Okay, so I hope you can appreciated that we are real people.
This is our laundry room we are talking about, AND we actually do laundry in it.
We don't have vignettes and accent lamps strewn about.
We have cat litter and underwear strewn about.
Get it?
Okay.
BEFORE:
This last shot is standing in front of the sink and looking at the back wall. Like every other room in our house, this one started out a shade of off white... the same shade on the walls, trim, doors, ceiling, etc... it was asylum time all the time when we moved in. Also, please notice that pathetic light fixture. I really don't think it was like that when we first saw our house, but it was like that when we moved in. It stayed like that for nearly two years. Don't worry, you never would have noticed it, all the dirty laundry would have distracted your eye. I promise you.
Now, note what is most unfortunate: the laundry room is also the access point between out kitchen on the right and our family room on the left. The other door leads to the basement/garage. This is UNFORTUNATE!!! Every person that comes through our house will at some point go through our laundry room. No one wants that! If we had a million dollars we'd put up a wall and enclose the laundry room and form a hallway for connecting the kitchen to the family room. But we don't. So...
AFTER:
This is our laundry room we are talking about, AND we actually do laundry in it.
We don't have vignettes and accent lamps strewn about.
We have cat litter and underwear strewn about.
Get it?
Okay.
BEFORE:
Now, note what is most unfortunate: the laundry room is also the access point between out kitchen on the right and our family room on the left. The other door leads to the basement/garage. This is UNFORTUNATE!!! Every person that comes through our house will at some point go through our laundry room. No one wants that! If we had a million dollars we'd put up a wall and enclose the laundry room and form a hallway for connecting the kitchen to the family room. But we don't. So...
AFTER:
We painted the room a light green with bright white trim. Mr F removed the under sink cabinet doors and painted the cabinet and shelves a nice dark grey color. I made the curtains, the under sink one now hides a cat litter box! I also added that chevron cotton throw rug (for $8! and the pattern makes it look blurry in the pic but it is sharp in real life), which kind of keeps kitty litter from being tracked all over the house. Mr F hung that vintage chandelier (it's just taller than his head), and added the decorative hooks from World Market to the back wall. We finished it with the Boston Fern, which I kind of think makes all the difference in the world. Think about plants, people!
All in all: $13 for the hooks, $80 for the chandelier, $15 for fabric & curtain rods, $10 for the plant, $8 for the throw rug, and $60 for paint (I think, that is not my department... you could do it for less but we buy expensive no VOC paint). Whole room was under $200.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Happy Birthday My Beautiful Ruby
I've been meaning to mention...
Kid turned the big 1-0 yesterday.
Every time I sit down to compose a post about it, I start to cry.
Not because I'm sad she growing up, on the contrary, every year she grows more and more into the most loyal and loving friend I've ever known.
I cry because my love for her, and her impact on my life, is too overwhelming to verbalize.
She's had a hard load to carry physically and mentally and emotionally.
She's had epilepsy, a cataract, two eye surgeries, abdominal migraines, OCD, she's had two major out-of-state moves leaving all her friends behind, been in a car accident, witnessed a hold up, and lived through a tornado... and she's only just ten years old!
So maybe it is no surprise that she is wise beyond her years.
Or that she watched Pride and Prejudice last weekend and totally got it. I mean she was laughing hysterically. And that's with the satire, sarcasm, and the old fashioned British dialogue and the fast mumbly delivery!
God, I love that girl.
If you lived nearby you'd totally want to come over and park yourself on the couch near her station (the good chair and ottoman under the good light where she seemingly speed reads a novel a day, her spent books and used kleenexes littering the ground around her feet) and let her cheer you to no end with her witty and bitingly sarcastic remarks about anyone who may have wronged you that day.
When you laugh she will suppress a prideful smile behind her book, but her eyes will glint like diamonds.
This girl is smart and fiercely loyal.
She didn't get a lick of my physical genes but as she says...
"Thank God I got your personality!"
Through nature or nurture she does... but infinitely better.
She has a confidence, sense of self, and a pure motiveless and selfless spirit of giving and kindness that I can only play act at.
I hope that the fact that she has never had to fight for, or question, our love and support, or our firm belief that she is a gift to our lives, coupled with our acceptance and enjoyment of her nature, has helped develop that strong sense of self and confidence in her being and her abilities, and that it will sustain her as life unfolds its challenges around her.
Childhood hasn't been a walk in the park for her, but I have a feeling adulthood will suit her quite well.
And I fully intend to live next door, so I don't have to miss a minute of it.
Kid turned the big 1-0 yesterday.
Every time I sit down to compose a post about it, I start to cry.
Not because I'm sad she growing up, on the contrary, every year she grows more and more into the most loyal and loving friend I've ever known.
I cry because my love for her, and her impact on my life, is too overwhelming to verbalize.
She's had a hard load to carry physically and mentally and emotionally.
She's had epilepsy, a cataract, two eye surgeries, abdominal migraines, OCD, she's had two major out-of-state moves leaving all her friends behind, been in a car accident, witnessed a hold up, and lived through a tornado... and she's only just ten years old!
So maybe it is no surprise that she is wise beyond her years.
Or that she watched Pride and Prejudice last weekend and totally got it. I mean she was laughing hysterically. And that's with the satire, sarcasm, and the old fashioned British dialogue and the fast mumbly delivery!
God, I love that girl.
If you lived nearby you'd totally want to come over and park yourself on the couch near her station (the good chair and ottoman under the good light where she seemingly speed reads a novel a day, her spent books and used kleenexes littering the ground around her feet) and let her cheer you to no end with her witty and bitingly sarcastic remarks about anyone who may have wronged you that day.
When you laugh she will suppress a prideful smile behind her book, but her eyes will glint like diamonds.
This girl is smart and fiercely loyal.
She didn't get a lick of my physical genes but as she says...
"Thank God I got your personality!"
Through nature or nurture she does... but infinitely better.
She has a confidence, sense of self, and a pure motiveless and selfless spirit of giving and kindness that I can only play act at.
Childhood hasn't been a walk in the park for her, but I have a feeling adulthood will suit her quite well.
And I fully intend to live next door, so I don't have to miss a minute of it.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hope Everyone Is Okay... Because I'm Certainly Not
I was huddled up having a major tornado PTSD anxiety attack as the wind speeds picked up to something insanely ridiculous last night.
And, people, I know what 140 mph wind speeds look like.
Last night wasn't looking (or sounding) that much better in comparison.
Me no likey.
It was no f'ing joke at our house last night.
Who knew it was going to be like this all the way in the middle of Michigan?! For the love of God!
We still have one massive tree outside Baby's window, so we moved her to my room and Mr F slept with her while I went and lay hyperventilating all night long in Kid's guest bed.
I felt like a wild animal with all my instincts kicking in... and people... they were not telling me to go to sleep as Mr F had suggested.
They were telling me to WIG THE FUCK OUT.
(and for the record the cats' instincts were also telling them to wig the fuck out... so I think I may have been onto something there)
Thankfully the wind speeds didn't really pick up until the girls' were in bed so they didn't have to know what was going on.
We thought about keeping them home from school today because the wind speeds might make the highway commute we have dangerous.
But Mr F also worried leaving them home with me all day might be dangerous to their psyche.
Hopefully things will die down before I have to go pick them up.
Because what would be most damaging to their psyche is what might happen with me + minivan + wind gusts + semi-trucks + highway merging.
Just saying.
And, people, I know what 140 mph wind speeds look like.
Last night wasn't looking (or sounding) that much better in comparison.
Me no likey.
It was no f'ing joke at our house last night.
Who knew it was going to be like this all the way in the middle of Michigan?! For the love of God!
We still have one massive tree outside Baby's window, so we moved her to my room and Mr F slept with her while I went and lay hyperventilating all night long in Kid's guest bed.
I felt like a wild animal with all my instincts kicking in... and people... they were not telling me to go to sleep as Mr F had suggested.
They were telling me to WIG THE FUCK OUT.
(and for the record the cats' instincts were also telling them to wig the fuck out... so I think I may have been onto something there)
Thankfully the wind speeds didn't really pick up until the girls' were in bed so they didn't have to know what was going on.
We thought about keeping them home from school today because the wind speeds might make the highway commute we have dangerous.
But Mr F also worried leaving them home with me all day might be dangerous to their psyche.
Hopefully things will die down before I have to go pick them up.
Because what would be most damaging to their psyche is what might happen with me + minivan + wind gusts + semi-trucks + highway merging.
Just saying.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Misheard Lyrics.... Kid Addition
At the girls' school they sing a lot of crazy praise songs. When I was there for Family Day I was shocked to hear them sing a Christian parody of "We Will Rock You" by Queen. That just seemed wrong on so many different levels. And, yet, it was also totally awesome. But still wrong. Wrong wrong.
Anyway, this morning Kid and I were reflecting on how wrong it was, and we looked up the praise version to figure out how they changed "big disgrace":
(To the tune of "We Will Rock You")
Jesus was a cool dude,
40 days with no food,
Then he wrote the golden rule and that's O.K.
He's got love on his face,
Full of grace!
He's spreadin' his word all over the place!
Singin', We will, we will
Praise him yeah, praise him WOO (2x)
"Full of grace!"
Kid started laughing and revealed she'd been chanting out...
"He lives in Space!"every time they sang it.
Which was especially funny.
We had some people warn us fervently that the school would indoctrinate our children.
I really wasn't worried about it.
#1 We're talking about Lutherans not Nazis.
#2 It's clearly too late.
#3 You can't indoctrinate kids who are already being indoctrinated. (see below)
Which brings me to...
In terms of non-Christian Christian interpretations how wrong is it that in order to help Kid memorize her 7th and 8th Commandment and meanings, as defined by her teacher,I gave her some sinful acronyms? That's what I thought. I mean if it's alright to change the lyrics to "We Will Rock You" to suit your purposes I think there is room for a little creativity on my part. With that in mind, for "betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation" I suggested a simple "BSH" or "bullshit hell". The second, for "defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way." I suggested "DSE" or "Dad sucks eggs". People, I know my child, and this was a very titillating prospect for her. She was able to get a 100% while at the same time inwardly defying the system. I call that a success. Am I raising her up right, or what?!
Anyway, this morning Kid and I were reflecting on how wrong it was, and we looked up the praise version to figure out how they changed "big disgrace":
(To the tune of "We Will Rock You")
Jesus was a cool dude,
40 days with no food,
Then he wrote the golden rule and that's O.K.
He's got love on his face,
Full of grace!
He's spreadin' his word all over the place!
Singin', We will, we will
Praise him yeah, praise him WOO (2x)
"Full of grace!"
Kid started laughing and revealed she'd been chanting out...
"He lives in Space!"every time they sang it.
Which was especially funny.
We had some people warn us fervently that the school would indoctrinate our children.
I really wasn't worried about it.
#1 We're talking about Lutherans not Nazis.
#2 It's clearly too late.
#3 You can't indoctrinate kids who are already being indoctrinated. (see below)
Which brings me to...
In terms of non-Christian Christian interpretations how wrong is it that in order to help Kid memorize her 7th and 8th Commandment and meanings, as defined by her teacher,I gave her some sinful acronyms? That's what I thought. I mean if it's alright to change the lyrics to "We Will Rock You" to suit your purposes I think there is room for a little creativity on my part. With that in mind, for "betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation" I suggested a simple "BSH" or "bullshit hell". The second, for "defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way." I suggested "DSE" or "Dad sucks eggs". People, I know my child, and this was a very titillating prospect for her. She was able to get a 100% while at the same time inwardly defying the system. I call that a success. Am I raising her up right, or what?!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Two Roads Diverged In A Wood
and I,
I took the one that went straight to a McDonald's hot apple pie.
I took the one that went straight to a McDonald's hot apple pie.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Ha ha ha ha.... Life is So Funny... (plus updated house pictures)
So, as per the norm, just when I think I'm ready to move forward in one direction
something come up and hobbles me:
Or I should say hobbles her, which in turn hobbles me.
Last Wednesday Kid tripped and fell (hard) during gym. She tried to catch herself and the force of the impact broke her radius. That girl is so insanely stoic, though, that it was hard to figure that out right away. The ER splinted it and said that's all she'd need. We wouldn't even have to go to the Ortho clinic if we didn't want to. Hmm... not so sure about that advice. They made a follow-up in three weeks with the clinic "just in case" and said we could just cancel it if everything seemed fine. The Orthopedic clinic called the next morning and said she needed to come in for a hard cast on Tuesday. They did not agree with the ER. While a cast is certainly more of an inconvenience, I'd rather not worry all the time that the splint isn't on properly, or hard enough to really protect her if she hits it at school. Without a hard cast she's pretty limited in what she can do.
This morning we got up extra early to account for having to dress her. And I'm going to hit Value World to see if I can't find a cardigan and a coat I can cut the arm off of. This is one instance where the uniform is a bigger hinderance than it is a help. Now Mr F will unpack her bag in the morning and I'll get there early to pack her up. It is her left arm (and she's right handed) but she's not the most coordinated with the use of both of her limbs! She'll have to sit out of gym and I'm hoping her teacher will let her work on her homework during that time which would be a huge bonus.
In other news, this accident trumped our weekend plans to head to Chicago. Boo. And cost us just as much. Double Boo.
Mr F used the extra time to paint our dining room ceiling in preparation for hanging our chandelier. It's going to happen, people! Maybe even before 2013! He also weatherstripped our doors (why we went through 2 winters with 1/2" gaps blowing cold air in I do not know... I did request it 2 years ago), installed my new programmable thermostat (which has been sitting in the bag for 1 year), new coat hooks (which I love... so I can move some of the 1 million coats off of the coat rack and the kids can actually reach to put their coats and bags away)...
(the door and trim are white... so keep that in mind when you assess our wall color... it is not mustard yellow, I swear, kind of a wheat color. The hooks are a camel color with red and blue designs from Cost Plus World Market and were $7 each. I got some green ones for the laundry room.)
See, look not mustard AT ALL:
He also made some serious ground finishing up our exterior paint...
BEFORE:
Thanks to the tornado...
I took care of Kid. Wrote out her book report for her, taught her this week's memory (5th &6th commandments), and did her Science test review with her. I planted 70 spring bulbs, went grocery shopping (and actually put them away!), fed the crew, made curtains for the laundry room, and made these cool Christmas Trees from catalogs:
(surprisingly fast and easy! Just fold the page in at a right angle toward the seam. Then fold that page again making a tight paper airplane like fold back into the seam. Fold the bottom up to be flush with the bottom of the catalog. Repeat 100 times.)
Mr F and I finally finished the first four seasons of Breaking Bad. I have mixed feelings about that show, although it picked up a bit at the end.
Kid and I watched Wives & Daughters on Netflix late into the night while we waited for her pain medicine to kick in. I have only good feelings about that series.
And the girls and I (mostly the girls) have been watching The Road to Avonlea (from the library) and are loving it. It's like everything you remember Little House On The Prairie being until you watch an old LHOTP and you can't imagine how something so obviously filmed on a sound stage and not accurate to the books was so successful. The Road to Avonlea has 20 more years of TV making know how on its side and it shows.
So, all in all, we used our time wisely.
something come up and hobbles me:
Or I should say hobbles her, which in turn hobbles me.
Last Wednesday Kid tripped and fell (hard) during gym. She tried to catch herself and the force of the impact broke her radius. That girl is so insanely stoic, though, that it was hard to figure that out right away. The ER splinted it and said that's all she'd need. We wouldn't even have to go to the Ortho clinic if we didn't want to. Hmm... not so sure about that advice. They made a follow-up in three weeks with the clinic "just in case" and said we could just cancel it if everything seemed fine. The Orthopedic clinic called the next morning and said she needed to come in for a hard cast on Tuesday. They did not agree with the ER. While a cast is certainly more of an inconvenience, I'd rather not worry all the time that the splint isn't on properly, or hard enough to really protect her if she hits it at school. Without a hard cast she's pretty limited in what she can do.
This morning we got up extra early to account for having to dress her. And I'm going to hit Value World to see if I can't find a cardigan and a coat I can cut the arm off of. This is one instance where the uniform is a bigger hinderance than it is a help. Now Mr F will unpack her bag in the morning and I'll get there early to pack her up. It is her left arm (and she's right handed) but she's not the most coordinated with the use of both of her limbs! She'll have to sit out of gym and I'm hoping her teacher will let her work on her homework during that time which would be a huge bonus.
In other news, this accident trumped our weekend plans to head to Chicago. Boo. And cost us just as much. Double Boo.
(the door and trim are white... so keep that in mind when you assess our wall color... it is not mustard yellow, I swear, kind of a wheat color. The hooks are a camel color with red and blue designs from Cost Plus World Market and were $7 each. I got some green ones for the laundry room.)
See, look not mustard AT ALL:
I told you I wasn't lying.
He also made some serious ground finishing up our exterior paint...
BEFORE:
Note our house had pinky beige aluminum siding, light aqua trim (wtf?!), off white doors and soffits, hunter green accents (window frames, gutters, railings, etc.), and black (with dark bluish tint) shingles on the roof.
We now have HardieBoard plank siding which we have painted a dark indigo (risky!). All of the trim, gutters and soffits are painted a bronze color (kind of brownish/gray depending on light). The walk railings are now a deep dark chocolate brown and our doors are a russet color. Our shingles are Weathered Wood by Timberline... so much better, I promise you. I think now that everything has come together it looks really great. Such an improvement over the original house colors! It only took a EF3 and 7 months to get here ;)
Window boxes scheduled to make their arrival on the scene sometime in spring of 2013!
(awesome terracotta urn style rain barrels are from overstock.com)
(surprisingly fast and easy! Just fold the page in at a right angle toward the seam. Then fold that page again making a tight paper airplane like fold back into the seam. Fold the bottom up to be flush with the bottom of the catalog. Repeat 100 times.)
Mr F and I finally finished the first four seasons of Breaking Bad. I have mixed feelings about that show, although it picked up a bit at the end.
Kid and I watched Wives & Daughters on Netflix late into the night while we waited for her pain medicine to kick in. I have only good feelings about that series.
And the girls and I (mostly the girls) have been watching The Road to Avonlea (from the library) and are loving it. It's like everything you remember Little House On The Prairie being until you watch an old LHOTP and you can't imagine how something so obviously filmed on a sound stage and not accurate to the books was so successful. The Road to Avonlea has 20 more years of TV making know how on its side and it shows.
So, all in all, we used our time wisely.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Back to That
Right before the tornado hit we had just started working towards developing an adoption plan.
The tornado put everything on hold in that regard, since we've been physically, emotionally, and financially caught up in tornado repairs EVER SINCE (even still).
But that gave us time to think.
We'd thought through every possible direction and changed our minds several times.
And had ended in what we thought would be best.
Which was adopting out of foster care.
Much like having to wait on painting my kitchen has made me realize HOW MUCH BETTER grey would be then blue (whew... we can thank the tornado for slowing that project down enough to prevent that huge mistake)...
I also came to realize that I'd really like to raise up another baby. (two)
And I don't think I could do that and fear losing them back to the system, not at this stage of my life and my children's lives.
And I don't think I can even do that and be dealing with the system all the time.
Which is not to say I'm over the idea of fostering for us in the future... I just don't think it's a good fit for us right now.
We have some house things to shore up. We need to make sure we aren't going to have a surprise financial drain once we're in the process.
And we need to wait a bit since Mr F's new job has a 4K adoption benefit, but it doesn't kick in until one year of employment... and I need to know more about all of that.
But seeing as I'm not growing out of my desire to add more children to our family, and Mr F has a mad crush on all babies (so it took all of 5 minutes to get him onboard), and Kid has 5 armpit hairs in her right pit ... I'm ready.
I just think we're good parents and that there are so many children out there in need. And I'm never getting over that. Never. I also don't aspire to being done with this stage of my life. I don't really think there is a "next" we're moving towards. What is the point of being done? The "We're almost out of that stage" or the "Things are just getting easier" mentality doesn't really make sense to me (for me). I kind of think this is where it is at and there isn't something I'd rather be doing. Fortunately, Mr F usually agrees.
We are going to pursue an African American infant adoption, for which there is great need.
Most people here abouts have recommended using Bethany for this. Feel free to chime in. I'm worried about a faster time line (6 months?) and since we NEED to use the work benefits I think we'll have to wait until late spring to start the process.
Let's all hope the adoption tax credit gets renewed for 2013!
The tornado put everything on hold in that regard, since we've been physically, emotionally, and financially caught up in tornado repairs EVER SINCE (even still).
But that gave us time to think.
We'd thought through every possible direction and changed our minds several times.
And had ended in what we thought would be best.
Which was adopting out of foster care.
Much like having to wait on painting my kitchen has made me realize HOW MUCH BETTER grey would be then blue (whew... we can thank the tornado for slowing that project down enough to prevent that huge mistake)...
I also came to realize that I'd really like to raise up another baby. (two)
And I don't think I could do that and fear losing them back to the system, not at this stage of my life and my children's lives.
And I don't think I can even do that and be dealing with the system all the time.
Which is not to say I'm over the idea of fostering for us in the future... I just don't think it's a good fit for us right now.
We have some house things to shore up. We need to make sure we aren't going to have a surprise financial drain once we're in the process.
And we need to wait a bit since Mr F's new job has a 4K adoption benefit, but it doesn't kick in until one year of employment... and I need to know more about all of that.
But seeing as I'm not growing out of my desire to add more children to our family, and Mr F has a mad crush on all babies (so it took all of 5 minutes to get him onboard), and Kid has 5 armpit hairs in her right pit ... I'm ready.
I just think we're good parents and that there are so many children out there in need. And I'm never getting over that. Never. I also don't aspire to being done with this stage of my life. I don't really think there is a "next" we're moving towards. What is the point of being done? The "We're almost out of that stage" or the "Things are just getting easier" mentality doesn't really make sense to me (for me). I kind of think this is where it is at and there isn't something I'd rather be doing. Fortunately, Mr F usually agrees.
We are going to pursue an African American infant adoption, for which there is great need.
Most people here abouts have recommended using Bethany for this. Feel free to chime in. I'm worried about a faster time line (6 months?) and since we NEED to use the work benefits I think we'll have to wait until late spring to start the process.
Let's all hope the adoption tax credit gets renewed for 2013!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
"This movie is really trying to hurt my feelings...
and it's succeeding." I announced to Mr F while watching Biutfiul.
A movie we've had sitting on the counter mocking us for a few weeks while we tried to gear up for it's level of depression. It can be hard to get too excited about something that is going to rip your soul out.
Later, Mr F said "Don't worry, I'm never going to die in the bed lying next to our children."
And I said, "I'm never going to go insane and become a slut and beat our kids."
Then we wiped out tears and went to bed.
A movie we've had sitting on the counter mocking us for a few weeks while we tried to gear up for it's level of depression. It can be hard to get too excited about something that is going to rip your soul out.
Later, Mr F said "Don't worry, I'm never going to die in the bed lying next to our children."
And I said, "I'm never going to go insane and become a slut and beat our kids."
Then we wiped out tears and went to bed.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Wherein My Favorite Child Is Revealed
"If someone said
their mom was
just a stay-at-home mom
I would say
'My mom
is not
just
a stay-at-home mom.'"
Kid announced at dinner.
their mom was
just a stay-at-home mom
I would say
'My mom
is not
just
a stay-at-home mom.'"
Kid announced at dinner.
Friday, October 5, 2012
I Had Quite A Run Going
For a minute I thought I had figured out how to fit blogging back into my daily(ish) life.
I guess not.
#1 We are right in the midst of peak fall foliage around here. It makes my commute so much more bearable.
#2 This week Mr F got some kind of a stomach bug. He's been sleeping in Kid's guest bed all week to try and keep it to himself. Let's be real, the last thing I need during my commute 2 hours a day is to have diarrhea. So far my plan has worked.
#3 So, when Baby had a nightmare sometime in the wee hours of Tuesday, I just pulled back the covers and she got in.
Well, no, first I said "Do you have to go potty?"
She said "No."
We went to sleep.
I woke up to a cold wet bed. :(
Baby has only had one other accident in her life and it was Mr F's fault because he forgot to take her to the bathroom before bed. It's weird that I even asked her, I've never done that before... it must have been a psychic premonition. I should have obviously listened to myself more.
It's been 3 days and my mattress isn't completely dry.
I can't believe after all the years of co-sleeping and nursing babies and toddlers that this is THE FIRST TIME anyone has wet my bed! Of course, on a normal night she would have been snuggled back to sleep in her own bed, which has a pee protector pad (not for pee mind you but for the inevitable stomach flu). So, anyway, I've been dealing with that nightmare all week. Including the use of the shopvac... which did seem to help dry deeper into the pillowtop.
Baby's secret plan worked because I've been bunking with her all week.
#4 Mr F has also had closing week at his new job. There have been late nights (not as late as before, but after bedtime)... so the honeymoon is over. He also ran into the old douche supervisor at Potbelly's. I wish I could have been there to experience that awkward meet up. Or not because I still want to maim him.
#5 Kid has had mostly good days at school but one ultra rough night. I think it's the 2 steps forward one gigantic step back syndrome. Things are definitely going better and I think, right now, the plan is to stick it out the entire year. I don't think we'll return next year, but I do think it will be easiest for her emotionally not to leave mid-year. Sticking it out through the whole year will allow us to make the best most informed decision about what to do next year. I'm definitely more at ease knowing she is doing so well academically. Did I tell you that their GPA is calculated DAILY? Yes. She's got 6 As and 2 B+s (as of today)... so, you know, it could be a hell of a lot worse. And I have to say it really validates my teaching over the last two years! We brought her up from the bottom of her class academically in 2nd grade public school (and 1st and K to be honest) to the top of her class at a very academically rigorous school. It's a kind of ironic twist that it took sending her to school to validate the homeschooling. But there you have it. Seeing how well she can do, even under extraordinary stress, is eye opening. We originally took her out of school because she was falling so behind that the teacher didn't believe she was capable... and we weren't sure what we'd find at home. We knew she was smart but were open to academics being a road that might not demonstrate that intelligence in a direct way. At home, I quickly saw her progress but had nothing to compare it to. Now, I am extremely encouraged. She was just a late academic bloomer (you know sometimes Steiner is right) and if I hadn't taken her out she would have never had the chance to skip ahead the way she has. And if I hadn't put her in this school I might never have recognized how much she can handle and what she might be able to achieve academically. So there's that.
#6 Baby started gymnastics this week.
She is IN LOVE. This is a sport made for her. Even more than dance. Did I tell you she was asked to join the competitive dance team? We had decided to wait until next year. Now I'm really glad we did because this might be where it is at. And Lord knows you can't be doing competitive dance and gymnastics. Unless you are homeschooling ;)
#7 Those of you not on Facebook missed this beauty:
Kid's covert spy notes taken during our Monday night dinner out.
#8 Halloween Sneak Peak:
I guess not.
#1 We are right in the midst of peak fall foliage around here. It makes my commute so much more bearable.
#2 This week Mr F got some kind of a stomach bug. He's been sleeping in Kid's guest bed all week to try and keep it to himself. Let's be real, the last thing I need during my commute 2 hours a day is to have diarrhea. So far my plan has worked.
#3 So, when Baby had a nightmare sometime in the wee hours of Tuesday, I just pulled back the covers and she got in.
Well, no, first I said "Do you have to go potty?"
She said "No."
We went to sleep.
I woke up to a cold wet bed. :(
Baby has only had one other accident in her life and it was Mr F's fault because he forgot to take her to the bathroom before bed. It's weird that I even asked her, I've never done that before... it must have been a psychic premonition. I should have obviously listened to myself more.
It's been 3 days and my mattress isn't completely dry.
I can't believe after all the years of co-sleeping and nursing babies and toddlers that this is THE FIRST TIME anyone has wet my bed! Of course, on a normal night she would have been snuggled back to sleep in her own bed, which has a pee protector pad (not for pee mind you but for the inevitable stomach flu). So, anyway, I've been dealing with that nightmare all week. Including the use of the shopvac... which did seem to help dry deeper into the pillowtop.
Baby's secret plan worked because I've been bunking with her all week.
#4 Mr F has also had closing week at his new job. There have been late nights (not as late as before, but after bedtime)... so the honeymoon is over. He also ran into the old douche supervisor at Potbelly's. I wish I could have been there to experience that awkward meet up. Or not because I still want to maim him.
#5 Kid has had mostly good days at school but one ultra rough night. I think it's the 2 steps forward one gigantic step back syndrome. Things are definitely going better and I think, right now, the plan is to stick it out the entire year. I don't think we'll return next year, but I do think it will be easiest for her emotionally not to leave mid-year. Sticking it out through the whole year will allow us to make the best most informed decision about what to do next year. I'm definitely more at ease knowing she is doing so well academically. Did I tell you that their GPA is calculated DAILY? Yes. She's got 6 As and 2 B+s (as of today)... so, you know, it could be a hell of a lot worse. And I have to say it really validates my teaching over the last two years! We brought her up from the bottom of her class academically in 2nd grade public school (and 1st and K to be honest) to the top of her class at a very academically rigorous school. It's a kind of ironic twist that it took sending her to school to validate the homeschooling. But there you have it. Seeing how well she can do, even under extraordinary stress, is eye opening. We originally took her out of school because she was falling so behind that the teacher didn't believe she was capable... and we weren't sure what we'd find at home. We knew she was smart but were open to academics being a road that might not demonstrate that intelligence in a direct way. At home, I quickly saw her progress but had nothing to compare it to. Now, I am extremely encouraged. She was just a late academic bloomer (you know sometimes Steiner is right) and if I hadn't taken her out she would have never had the chance to skip ahead the way she has. And if I hadn't put her in this school I might never have recognized how much she can handle and what she might be able to achieve academically. So there's that.
#6 Baby started gymnastics this week.
She is IN LOVE. This is a sport made for her. Even more than dance. Did I tell you she was asked to join the competitive dance team? We had decided to wait until next year. Now I'm really glad we did because this might be where it is at. And Lord knows you can't be doing competitive dance and gymnastics. Unless you are homeschooling ;)
#7 Those of you not on Facebook missed this beauty:
Kid's covert spy notes taken during our Monday night dinner out.
#8 Halloween Sneak Peak:
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Good News
Kid has had all smiley faces on our emotions chart all week (so far). This despite having had 3 major review tests already. She also has a 3.62 GPA. (no bell curve either). So, all in all, that's pretty great considering that she has test anxiety and doesn't understand what the hell the teacher is saying half of the time.
Not so coincidentally she has befriended the Korean exchange students (have you heard of this? I find this kind of disturbing... and by 'kind of' I mean 'very'... Korean families send their elementary aged children to the US to go to school and live with host families. Our school is a very popular choice for this and about 15% of the school population are Korean exchange students) Anyway, the point is that Kid has become tight with the Korean girls partly because none of them know what the hell is going on and so they can just wander around lost together. I just think about how hard this is for us and my heartbreaks for these little kids who are away from their families and siblings many of them just learning English.
How long this respite from overwhelming school stress will last no one can guess... but for this week it's been a welcome reprieve.
Not so coincidentally she has befriended the Korean exchange students (have you heard of this? I find this kind of disturbing... and by 'kind of' I mean 'very'... Korean families send their elementary aged children to the US to go to school and live with host families. Our school is a very popular choice for this and about 15% of the school population are Korean exchange students) Anyway, the point is that Kid has become tight with the Korean girls partly because none of them know what the hell is going on and so they can just wander around lost together. I just think about how hard this is for us and my heartbreaks for these little kids who are away from their families and siblings many of them just learning English.
How long this respite from overwhelming school stress will last no one can guess... but for this week it's been a welcome reprieve.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Oh Goody Another Long Boring Post (You're Welcome)
There are a few specific things I miss about not having TV service... Food Network and House Hunters International! Damn, I miss the opportunity to veg out hardcore while watching people get all riled up that their potential Berlin apartment doesn't have a kitchen in it.
Today is weirdly foggy and disturbingly warm and I have an ever worsening cold and I'm still tired from that crazy Cathe workout I did on Monday (seriously, I thought I was on the verge of cardiac arrest...SERIOUSLY) and I'd love me a long House Hunters International marathon.
Instead I'll regale you with the minutia of my ongoings:
Yesterday, after waxing poetically (or not) about Mr F's new job... he came home late. Ha Ha! Joke's on me! I was irrationally pissed. It's a long trying day in Casa Furious now that the kids are in school... I have a tremendous amount of balls in the air at once. (I know this confounds me, too) I just assumed having 3 hours sans kids would equal getting MORE done not LESS. I was wrong. (Veteran moms are laughing everywhere) Not only is there all the morning routine hullaballo which had me (literally) monitoring all four burners this morning (hot breakfasts and lunch... that's how I roll) while cutting up strawberries and making Mr F's coffee and packing Kid's lunch and doing Baby's hair and locating 6 plastic spoons for her to bring to school. You get the picture. It's an hour long after school special on the dangers of multi-tasking. Mr F said one day he could handle it and I could sleep and I laughed and laughed and laughed. And laughed.
Anyway, back to how I have less time. Believe it. While I've theoretically gained the 3 hours Baby is at school I've also lost 2 hours commuting. Add to that the fact that we are prisoners to Kid's homework every single afternoon from the time we arrive home until we set the table for dinner (most of which involves me actively participating) and now I've lost 5 hours a day. I try and workout in the morning and get one chore done and then it's time to pick up Baby. We get home have lunch and either attend her extra curriculars or run errands (or most days both) and then we go back and get Kid. Then it's homework, dinner, showers, book reading with the girls, Mr F and I usually try to watch a show, then I take a sleeping pill and go to bed. It's glamorous. All the books I pick up for myself at the library sit in a stack unread. This is not what I imagined it would be like... and I tried to set really low expectations.
I'm still cooking. I made chicken noodle soup last night. I'm making Kid's lunches. One day, maybe soon, I'll get back to posting all of that stuff again. We're almost done with our CSA (praise God!) and I can go back to actually planning our meals and not throwing out 90 pounds of rotted kohlrabi and kale every week. I've had a love hate thing going on with the CSA and as the weeks drag on it's more hate hate. Ironically we've eaten out more than we have ever since having the CSA because more often than not I just can't face dealing with it at dinner time. I spent way too many hot summer afternoons cutting up vegetables no one even particularly liked for 2 hours in order to make some kind of meal out of them no one really wanted to eat. I wish I was exaggerating. It was a grueling job and after 20 weeks I am ready to quit. Next year?... farmer's market. The End.
We've done a few things to try and make our life a bit more bearable during the school week. Most of them are food related. On Mondays you will find us at Red Brick Kitchen & Bar making the most of both 1/2 price appetizers and free kids meals. If you ever want to run into us, you know where to find us. 6 PM. The food is great (really good) and the kids meals are huge and top notch. We always end up taking half of everyone's dinner home for lunch the next day (win-win... and combined with the free kids meals makes this an affordable choice). Mondays are usually rough with a lot of homework and this gives us something to look forward to. Plus it's nice to have the concentrated family dinner conversation time that just doesn't always happen at home when there are dishes and such to get started on. We also like to cap off the week with a Friday night family date to Culver's. Culver's is the bomb. We don't even eat the ice cream. Pot Roast sandwich... I'm coming for you.... Friday 6 PM. Again you know where to find us. They have amazing root beer. The point of this is that I only have 3 nights I have to juggle homework and dinner at the same time. This is the most we've ever gone out to eat in YEARS, but life is a challenge right now and dinner doesn't have to be ;)
Okay, Jillian I'm coming for you...
Today is weirdly foggy and disturbingly warm and I have an ever worsening cold and I'm still tired from that crazy Cathe workout I did on Monday (seriously, I thought I was on the verge of cardiac arrest...SERIOUSLY) and I'd love me a long House Hunters International marathon.
Instead I'll regale you with the minutia of my ongoings:
Yesterday, after waxing poetically (or not) about Mr F's new job... he came home late. Ha Ha! Joke's on me! I was irrationally pissed. It's a long trying day in Casa Furious now that the kids are in school... I have a tremendous amount of balls in the air at once. (I know this confounds me, too) I just assumed having 3 hours sans kids would equal getting MORE done not LESS. I was wrong. (Veteran moms are laughing everywhere) Not only is there all the morning routine hullaballo which had me (literally) monitoring all four burners this morning (hot breakfasts and lunch... that's how I roll) while cutting up strawberries and making Mr F's coffee and packing Kid's lunch and doing Baby's hair and locating 6 plastic spoons for her to bring to school. You get the picture. It's an hour long after school special on the dangers of multi-tasking. Mr F said one day he could handle it and I could sleep and I laughed and laughed and laughed. And laughed.
Anyway, back to how I have less time. Believe it. While I've theoretically gained the 3 hours Baby is at school I've also lost 2 hours commuting. Add to that the fact that we are prisoners to Kid's homework every single afternoon from the time we arrive home until we set the table for dinner (most of which involves me actively participating) and now I've lost 5 hours a day. I try and workout in the morning and get one chore done and then it's time to pick up Baby. We get home have lunch and either attend her extra curriculars or run errands (or most days both) and then we go back and get Kid. Then it's homework, dinner, showers, book reading with the girls, Mr F and I usually try to watch a show, then I take a sleeping pill and go to bed. It's glamorous. All the books I pick up for myself at the library sit in a stack unread. This is not what I imagined it would be like... and I tried to set really low expectations.
I'm still cooking. I made chicken noodle soup last night. I'm making Kid's lunches. One day, maybe soon, I'll get back to posting all of that stuff again. We're almost done with our CSA (praise God!) and I can go back to actually planning our meals and not throwing out 90 pounds of rotted kohlrabi and kale every week. I've had a love hate thing going on with the CSA and as the weeks drag on it's more hate hate. Ironically we've eaten out more than we have ever since having the CSA because more often than not I just can't face dealing with it at dinner time. I spent way too many hot summer afternoons cutting up vegetables no one even particularly liked for 2 hours in order to make some kind of meal out of them no one really wanted to eat. I wish I was exaggerating. It was a grueling job and after 20 weeks I am ready to quit. Next year?... farmer's market. The End.
We've done a few things to try and make our life a bit more bearable during the school week. Most of them are food related. On Mondays you will find us at Red Brick Kitchen & Bar making the most of both 1/2 price appetizers and free kids meals. If you ever want to run into us, you know where to find us. 6 PM. The food is great (really good) and the kids meals are huge and top notch. We always end up taking half of everyone's dinner home for lunch the next day (win-win... and combined with the free kids meals makes this an affordable choice). Mondays are usually rough with a lot of homework and this gives us something to look forward to. Plus it's nice to have the concentrated family dinner conversation time that just doesn't always happen at home when there are dishes and such to get started on. We also like to cap off the week with a Friday night family date to Culver's. Culver's is the bomb. We don't even eat the ice cream. Pot Roast sandwich... I'm coming for you.... Friday 6 PM. Again you know where to find us. They have amazing root beer. The point of this is that I only have 3 nights I have to juggle homework and dinner at the same time. This is the most we've ever gone out to eat in YEARS, but life is a challenge right now and dinner doesn't have to be ;)
Okay, Jillian I'm coming for you...
Monday, September 24, 2012
Things That Are Going Down
A) Mr F's new job is 100 billion times better. People are actually qualified and passionate about their jobs = refreshing change. Added bonus: all of the people Mr F works with directly have kids. This is a life changer. He's been home at dinner time every single day. Now I know how the other half lives and let me tell you it's a lot better. It boggles the mind that he had to work 2x as many hours with a bigger department at the other place. WTF? I'm so glad we got out of there before it gave us both heart attacks. Also, if I had to go through all of this school stress with Mr F working his old hours (aka never home... ever.... ever) I wouldn't have been able to handle it.
B) Mr F and I are working our way through Breaking Bad on Netflix. I don't love it. It's fine... I think it's incredibly slow moving and it doesn't have that pull that other series have had (Lost, FNL, Justified) where Mr F and I can't stop watching the episodes back to back. We need another one like that, any suggestions (must be dvd or Netflix as we have no TV service).
C) I was making great strides (Ha!) working out in the AM after the kids went to school. Then last week the school stress just got unbearable and I started going to back to sleep after sending them off for another hour or two. I don't know what it is but extreme stress shuts me down and I am INCREDIBLY sleepy. I used to be like that during finals in college. Also, I was just burning it at both ends. I have to get up a couple of hours earlier to get everyone ready for school and then I don't actually go to bed a couple of hours earlier. Plus I'm driving so many hours a day... it's really mentally fatiguing (seriously it is). Well, anyway, now we have mice in the basement and I can't workout until Mr F secures the perimeter. I'm am going to try and do ye olde Cathe in the living room. If I get motivated... hopefully soon.
D) We found mice in the basement. WTF, cats?!
Get your lazy asses up and get on that shit.
E) Kid has 4 tests this week. Pray for us. I am now keeping a daily emotions calendar and charting how she feels about school before, after, and during homework. I'm hoping sometime before the next tuition payment is due we'll have a clear pattern we can go off of. She said if she could choose again she'd choose to homeschool, but now that she is there it's very hard for her to quit. I get it. I'm hoping that by charting it, I'll be able to make the best decision possible for her. If after 60 days the negative feelings dominate then I think we should pull her out.
F) Despite living in the safest area we've ever lived in, we just installed a home security system. For those of you that already have one this will seem like no big deal, I'm sure. For us, this is ground breaking! We've always kind of felt like if someone was going to break-in they were going to break-in and you might as well leave your door unlocked than have them smash out the glass of your antique door. You know? But then we were hit by the tornado and I have a very different feeling about how much stress and trauma I want to live through and feel much more comfortable being proactive. There has been a huge increase in break-ins in our county and even extending into our little village... the beauty of our house is that it is set way back on a heavily foliaged acre lot... which is also the negative in this circumstance. Better safe than sorry. We've got this baby rigged up tight! It seems a little overboard, but as I said, I'd much rather be in that situation than the other. One of Mr F's coworkers, at his old job, had their house ransacked while she was at work... when he saw how devastating and traumatizing it was he was on board lickety split. We got our system from SimpliSafe and I have to say, I'm loving it. It was very easy to install and use and I love having the key fob... really does make it as easy to use as a car alarm.
E) The weather decided to abruptly match the change in season. We've had the heat on the past two days (and trust me I really try to prolong that as much as possible since I'm crazy about our heating bill) and we're back to hot coffee. This kind of weather really makes me miss Asheville. I loved the sound and smell of the heat coming off of the radiators in the morning... I had the perfect spot to drink my coffee right next to a big radiator and my windows looking out at our gorgeous maple tree lined street. Fall was definitely the best season there. Of course, now we have THIS at the end of our street... so I'm not complaining ;)
B) Mr F and I are working our way through Breaking Bad on Netflix. I don't love it. It's fine... I think it's incredibly slow moving and it doesn't have that pull that other series have had (Lost, FNL, Justified) where Mr F and I can't stop watching the episodes back to back. We need another one like that, any suggestions (must be dvd or Netflix as we have no TV service).
C) I was making great strides (Ha!) working out in the AM after the kids went to school. Then last week the school stress just got unbearable and I started going to back to sleep after sending them off for another hour or two. I don't know what it is but extreme stress shuts me down and I am INCREDIBLY sleepy. I used to be like that during finals in college. Also, I was just burning it at both ends. I have to get up a couple of hours earlier to get everyone ready for school and then I don't actually go to bed a couple of hours earlier. Plus I'm driving so many hours a day... it's really mentally fatiguing (seriously it is). Well, anyway, now we have mice in the basement and I can't workout until Mr F secures the perimeter. I'm am going to try and do ye olde Cathe in the living room. If I get motivated... hopefully soon.
Get your lazy asses up and get on that shit.
E) Kid has 4 tests this week. Pray for us. I am now keeping a daily emotions calendar and charting how she feels about school before, after, and during homework. I'm hoping sometime before the next tuition payment is due we'll have a clear pattern we can go off of. She said if she could choose again she'd choose to homeschool, but now that she is there it's very hard for her to quit. I get it. I'm hoping that by charting it, I'll be able to make the best decision possible for her. If after 60 days the negative feelings dominate then I think we should pull her out.
F) Despite living in the safest area we've ever lived in, we just installed a home security system. For those of you that already have one this will seem like no big deal, I'm sure. For us, this is ground breaking! We've always kind of felt like if someone was going to break-in they were going to break-in and you might as well leave your door unlocked than have them smash out the glass of your antique door. You know? But then we were hit by the tornado and I have a very different feeling about how much stress and trauma I want to live through and feel much more comfortable being proactive. There has been a huge increase in break-ins in our county and even extending into our little village... the beauty of our house is that it is set way back on a heavily foliaged acre lot... which is also the negative in this circumstance. Better safe than sorry. We've got this baby rigged up tight! It seems a little overboard, but as I said, I'd much rather be in that situation than the other. One of Mr F's coworkers, at his old job, had their house ransacked while she was at work... when he saw how devastating and traumatizing it was he was on board lickety split. We got our system from SimpliSafe and I have to say, I'm loving it. It was very easy to install and use and I love having the key fob... really does make it as easy to use as a car alarm.
E) The weather decided to abruptly match the change in season. We've had the heat on the past two days (and trust me I really try to prolong that as much as possible since I'm crazy about our heating bill) and we're back to hot coffee. This kind of weather really makes me miss Asheville. I loved the sound and smell of the heat coming off of the radiators in the morning... I had the perfect spot to drink my coffee right next to a big radiator and my windows looking out at our gorgeous maple tree lined street. Fall was definitely the best season there. Of course, now we have THIS at the end of our street... so I'm not complaining ;)
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