Ramblings

41 days until Vegas - woooohooooo!! And 51 days until New York! And 69 days until the kids go back to school! ;-)

The kids have been at soccer camp all week - they're both having a lot of fun. DD cried when I left her on Monday. On Tuesday she says to me "you can't stay, you have to LEAVE!" Well, I know when I'm not wanted! ;-)

They've also started swimming lessons - they're both coming along very quickly. I'm waiting until next week to decide if I should sign them up for one more session or not. DS is in Level II and the instructor said it's possible he'll be ready for Level III - she's not sure yet. DD doesn't get much choice since she's only 4. I just want her to still have the same teacher since it took 3 days for her to warm up to him - and it's a teacher she's had before!

We did end up at the House of Mouse on Sunday - we actually had a good time. The kids were pleasant for a change and the crowds weren't too bad. We're considering going tomorrow for dinner, to ride the remodeled Pirates ride, and to watch the fireworks. DH's pass isn't good again until August after tomorrow.

My shoulder is bugging the heck out of me. I probably need to see the doctor about it - I can't lift it over my head without it popping, and reaching out to grab something is excruciating. It sucks getting old!

VBS is in a week and a half - I'm the assistant director again - a roll that I don't exactly relish but am willing to do to help out the director. I really enjoyed teaching a class - that was my favorite year. This year I'll end up running the computer for worship and helping with preschool crafts and whatever else needs to be done. Right now I'm anxiously awaiting my t-shirts to be delivered. I'm excited to see them and am hoping they'll be as good in real life as I imagine them in my head!

Oh yea - my car is all better! $612 later but at least it's all better! It runs GREAT now!! So I guess it was worth the $612.42!

It seems my friend wants to come to church again. We'll see if she actually does!

I suppose that's all of my ramblings. I need to get dinner started - I'm just having such a hard time using my arm that I'm DREADING going in the kitchen! Wish me luck!!

Sunday Sunday Sunday

A friend came to church with me today. I'm never sure about the protocal of this - do you ask how they liked it? Do you ask if they're going to come back? Do you wait for them to approach you about it? Do you need to make extra sure they're comfortable while they're there? Or do you just let them enjoy the service and not interfere? Who knows. I lean towards the "hands off" approach since I don't like to be bugged during the service. I hope she enjoyed it at least a little bit.

We might be off to the House of Mouse today. Not sure yet. The kids are being annoying so I don't know if I want to deal with them there. The last few times I tried when they were acting this way it was a disaster. I could really use some time away myself but I don't want to ask for it today. Thankfully the kids will be at soccer camp all week so that will give me some time alone. Hopefully it'll be just what I need!!

In huge need of a vent!!

Anybody who reads this can take it all with a grain of salt. I'm just in a *****y mood and need to get it off my chest. I don't feel like I have anybody else to dump this all on so here's as good a place as any!!

My car - something has been wrong with it forever. It dies every morning at the first two lights nearest my house. It's quite frustrating. The brake light has been on forever, and the check engine light keeps coming on too. The door locks have been acting up ever since somebody broke into the car - a year and a half ago!! I'm pretty sure dh told me he'd fix the door locks and I could have sworn he told me he'd take it in to his uncle's shop one morning and check it out to see if he could discover what is wrong with. Well either I'm remembering it wrong or he never said it, either way I'm irritated about it. If he never said it then I guess I should get over it but I'm pretty sure he did say it so it's hard to get over!

Well this week I finally decided enough was enough and I was calling the dealer to have it looked at and fixed. I don't know of any mechanics in the area and work on Honda's so I didn't know where else to take it. DH chose not to offer any input in that area other than "go ahead and take it in" - so I called and made an appointment.

Took it in this afternoon and just received the call about how much it would cost. Now I'm not one to have a huge problem with foreigners and immigrants - if you come here legally and get work and make a life for yourself - more power to you! But neither of the guys who I talked to this afternoon had English as their primary language. In person it's ok. I can watch your lips and understand everything you're saying. On the phone - a different story. So the guy calls to tell me what's wrong and I can't understand hardly anything he's saying - spark plugs, brake fluid, distributer cap was about all I got out of his explanation. I finally called dh and told him to call and take care of it. I'm not generally sexist, and I lean towards womens lib, but really - isn't it the dh's job to take care of the car for the wife? I know that's not fair - if something happened to him I'd have to take care of it, but you know, nothing has happened to him.

Maybe I'm just already irritated with him about the stupid video games on the computer so I'm not cutting him any slack. But really is my company that bad? You can't think of anything to ask me to do or to share with me in the evening? You have to spend the entire evening/night in front of the computer interacting with and enjoying the company of others. And every once in a while you think it's ok to just "throw me a bone" - make a comment about what I'm watching on tv or what I'm doing so it seems like you're really still here with me of your slightly interested in what I'm doing. Yea right. I don't even respond to your comments but do you notice. What's the point? The comments come across as insincere and as an attempt to assuage your own guilt. You're not here with me, the house could be on fire and we'd have to shout your name three times before you realized it and then you'd probably have to finish the round before you could leave the house.

I'm pretty sure if I were to take an extended vacation I wouldn't be missed - oh the kids might miss me since they rely on me to get them where they want to go and for their meals. DH would say of course he would miss me but I don't really think so. He doesn't appear to miss me when I'm sitting right here so why would me being gone be any different?

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Well the phone rang and I was called away from my venting. Just as well - perspective happens when you take a step back from the heat of the moment. I'm sure life will get easier - it always does.

It's finally official . . .

Baseball is OVER!!! DS's end of the season party was today. The kids got their trophies and year books, the coaches got their gifts, and we are done with baseball! Until next spring anyway! ;-) I'm happy for it to be "official." Now DS wants to try fencing - hmmmm!?! Well I've signed him up for a class - just waiting to hear from them if it's full or not. I figured try it once and if you hate it don't go back. Maybe he'll have a special talent for it. You'll never know if you don't try.

Tomorrow is Father's Day. I hope dh has a good day - although he doesn't care. He thinks it is a "stupid hallmark holiday." The good thing is I don't have to stress out about it too much. ;-) For the first time in I don't know how many years we are going to lunch with my father for Father's Day. My Dad will never win a father of the year award but that verse "Honor your Father and Mother" kept going through my head after my sister called and asked if we wanted to go. Alright Lord, I get the picture and we'll go! I will say that he has been a much better grandfather than he ever was a father - so I'm chosing to give him a gift that fits in with that - a framed picture of the kids in their baseball uniforms. He LOVES baseball and he loves his grandkids so I'm sure he'll be happy with that. Now that he's living in a real house he actually has a place to put it on a shelf too. ;-)

Handbells is playing at church tomorrow so I have to be there at 8:30 for practice. I enjoy playing but it's hard getting there that early. What's a bummer is we have the 2 and 3 year old class for church tomorrow - we always end up with them on the days handbells is playing!

DH and I are leaving for Vegas is 52 days! Woooohoooooo! 48 hours with no children! I tried to talk him into staying an extra day but so far he's not agreeing to it. I just know that just one more day without the kids will make me feel more refreshed. He thinks we won't be able to get somebody to watch them but I know my sister will spend one more night no problem! We'll see!

I think I'll take a nap for a bit. I've been trying to walk 4 miles a day (I have GOT to lose weight) and it's wearing me out!!

Winding down . . .

the school year is winding down and for that I am grateful.

I've decided dd will NOT continue to go to preschool for the summer. Instead she'll spend my working hours with a friend who has graciously offered to watch them when needed (for a small fee).

I told the preschool teacher today that next week would be her last day and she wasn't too thrilled. Mainly because she didn't teach her anything this year and she wanted to try testing her again in August to see if she is ready for K because she already decided she wasn't based on the fact that last time she tested her dd didn't know all of the letters. But I take NO stock in her evaluations so it would just be a waste of time. I KNOW my child can go to K and do the work - she learned all the letters names or the sounds they make in a session of about 20 minutes with me. If she can learn them that fast she's going to be fine. Plus I've been reading on the gifted children's websites again and dd exhibits every single trait on the lists for young children. The only one she doesn't is exhibit is reading fluently - and that is the one trait that is listed as some do and some don't. If I keep working with her I fully expect her to be reading by the time she starts K in September. And she's made comments about signs before that make me think she really is reading more words then we know - she's just not letting on!

DS is going to be a 4th grader and we will be spending our summer cementing multiplication facts in his brain. He has yet to have them all totally down pat - once he gets them he'll take off in math again. Right now he believes he can't do it and it's just a lack of self confidence issue. So I'll drill him and drill him and drill him until dd knows them too! ;-)

I have been personally feeling pretty down in the dumps lately. I know it's because I'm not getting enough exercise and I don't like the way I feel about my body - well I know that's part of it. I'm having lots of behavioral issues with both of my children - somewhere I went wrong and neither one believes me when I tell them to do something that I really want it done. It's exasperating and the thought of 13 more years before dd leaves for college in this state of disobedience has me quite discouraged.

I want to take piano lessons again and as of right now it's not going to happen - I'm determined to start again once dd is in K. She will be at school 5 days a week and I'm just going to have to make it a priority no matter what else is going on!!

I'm trying to take it one moment, one hour, one day, one week at a time.