Wednesday, April 23, 2008

An unexpected day off

I'm home today. Ahhh, the rest, the relaxation, the doing whatever the hell I want to do. >>SLAP<<

Wake up and smell the burnt coffee woman! I'm not home for my own leisure. I'm home because the youngest kid woke up pale as a sheet, dizzy and clammy, running for the bathroom. So much for the rest. The relaxation. The doing whatever the hell I want to do. No, I'll have plenty to do today. Not that it doesn't need done, of course. I just don't like being pushed into it.

So what am I going to do for a good portion of the day? Clean every blessed thing he might have touched in the last 24 hours.

I made the required run to the grocery store after getting him settled in. Because...well, what mom is stocked up on 7-up, jello, and fruit gushers when someone cops the stomach flu? But, I also managed to load up on some cleaning stuff.

Seriously, I needed to do a good scrub down throughout the house. And since I clean on the "want to" system, it doesn't get done as frequently as it should. Now that we've moved to the "have to" system, I discovered why I didn't "want to". I had very little in the way of cleaning supplies! What kind of wife and mother have I become? I have a 6-pack of Comet...which doesn't work at all well on hardwood floors. Pledge wipes (damn lazy is what I am) that don't work at all well on doorknobs and faucet handles. And some sort of fancy spray degreaser that hubby bought. He buys these things, but doesn't use them.

So now I have a brand new bottle of Pinesol, 2 containers of Clorox wipes, and some multi-purpose wipes. And I'm not afraid to use them. Just as soon as I finish my coffee, I really "have to" start cleaning.

Monday, April 14, 2008

The things kids do

How in the world do you chastise your kids for doing something technically wrong, when it is fall on your ass funny?

DH and the boys were outside working tonight, trying to stay out of my hair so I could finish my final exam. I went to visit after I finished and soon found out they'd been having a few laughs at my expense. I told DH the top of his work bench would last longer if he sanded everything down and treated it with something.

This started the stories of how they KNEW mom would walk in and start with comments like "If you would've cut this here, you could do this." Or, "If you change the way this is laid out, you'd have room for that." So they haul me to the other shed to show me the old work bench (non-treated) and that it was just fine because of all the 'oil products' spilled over the years. Ok, they had a point...but anyway. This is what started the initial laughing.

So the kid starts relating a story from school and can't get through it for the laughing. It seems he came up with a brilliant idea; and yes, it really was pretty good. He supplied the change and a friend the super glue. Do you see where it's going yet?

They superglued quarters to the hallway floor and waited around to see what happened. As it turned out, EVERY teacher that passed, and quite a few students, as well, tried their damnedest to get those quarters off the floor. It was so bad that a handful of teachers, after failing on the first, moved on to the second, and failing there, went to the third.

By the time he made it through the story I nearly had tears running down my face. I had to tell him that while it was enormously funny, he needed to watch out or he'd get busted for defacing the school.

But damn, I laughed my ass off. He was doing imitations of various people trying to pick them up. His impression of the football coach was too much. The lumbering, the struggling to bend all the way to the floor, the grunting while holding the position. It gets me giggling all over again just typing it.

I guess you have to be the mother of a 15-year old for it to be funny. Then again, watching DH laugh over it was nearly as entertaining as the story itself.

I hope this kid keeps himself out of trouble with all the stuff that rolls around in his head.

Makes a smart assed mother proud!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Absolutely nothing from the depths of my fried brain

So...this week has been...long, busy, mind-numbing.

It's finals week and the homework is kicking my ass. My physical response is a perpetual headache and exhaustion. Really, it's getting old. But at this point, I'm actually on target to finish with time to spare. I have about 12 problems left on the final and I'm hoping they don't hurt too bad. The assigned problems were awful until I found some help online. It's pretty sad when the online information is far more beneficial than the textbook. The text just sucks.

DH and I have had some spats this week...a far too normal thing anymore. I'm just so sick of it. My physical response is more head pain and some stomach/gut discomfort thrown in for good measure. I also get jittery, like there's a low grade electric current running through my whole body.

Work was busy and boring, by turns. Monday and Tuesday were so busy that 8 hours a day weren't enough to get it all done. By Thursday I was watching youtube videos to pass the time and keeping track of songs played by the local radio station for my son. Friday I asked the boss if I could cut out early to work on finals.

Also found out that doing my taxes for 2008 is not going to be a joyous experience. DH has been working in OR lately. Well, we got his paystub for March in the mail on Friday and I was shocked and just a little pissed to see OR state income tax withheld...a lot of it. I call the office, and she was really no help. I call the CPA we share a building with and talk to my counter-part in the office...she doesn't know and will have to ask him. He's so busy with last minute returns I doubt I'm anywhere on his radar right now. So I hop online and start my research (a nice break from homework). Turns out, OR state law allows for withholding on anyone earning income associated with the state. We've never dealt with this before, even when he was working all over the country. I'm so not looking forward to filing 2 state returns next year.

But today is starting out great! Well, other than finding the dog mess in the basement...but that's not my job to clean up. I had peace and quiet to catch up on mail and net reading, and I drank coffee that was actually hot. And now I've just finished a breakfast of real food that I didn't have to cook! The youngest son got up and decided to make bacon and eggs. My hero!

And thanks to the headache I woke up with, the entire entry is painfully boring and normal. My sense of humor should be back sometime after Monday when I turn in my final. I hope.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

There are no words to describe this day

I just want to curl up in a fetal position and cry my eyes out.

Twice I have typed out a rather long entry. The first was really nasty, so I tried to tone it down. The second started out fine and crumbled from there. It's just not going to be productive to go through this day again, step by miserable step.

Suffice it to say, I am surrounded by penises. Which prevents the brain from working sometimes. Have an issue with a man? Blame it on the penis. It applies to all males 10 and up.

I've had enough, and I'm not done with this day yet. I should be doing homework. I have 6 very painful and rather long accounting problems to do, and I haven't read the two chapters I need to. I have roughly 5 ginormous loads of laundry to do (go do your homework, we'll take care of the wash) and the machines are idle. At this rate, I'll be going commando in more ways than one tomorrow. They melted my iced tea container. And someone left a puddle in front of the commode. I don't have toddlers in the house anymore!

So now I'm upstairs trying to concentrate on homework, and obviously not succeeding because I'm writing this instead. I have a pounding headache. And I really just want to sleep. But now I'm too wired up for that.

WTF was I thinking when I decided to go back to school? How did I think I could really hold it all together? Oh, that's right. I didn't want to be stuck in a dead end job forever. Now I'll get to move on to a great paying job and put half my income toward school debt for the next 10 years.

And there's not a drop of tequila in the house...

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Bittersweet

Today is a bittersweet day. Fifteen years ago, I greeted my first child. Bleary eyed and exhausted, I looked at him in awe. It seemed unbelievable that this cute little wonder had come from me.

However cute, he was still two weeks late and in no hurry to come out on his own. To this day, very little gets his sense of time in a huff.

Today, I saw not a cute little cherub with a gap in his front teeth and chocolate on his chin. Rather, I saw a handsome young man, taller than both his father and I, full of adolescent muscles and fuzzy facial hair. I saw a young man with a teenage strut and shoulder chip. A young man confident in having the world by the tail and the bull by the horns. A young man way short on sleep and grumpy with it. A young man who will be asking for the truck keys in only a month.

Sigh.

Just yesterday, he was climbing in my lap for a cuddle and a kiss. Today, he comes from behind to rub my shoulders and tell me to slow down.

Just yesterday, he brought his ouchies for kisses that only mom could give. Today, he takes his injuries out on the kid across the line or opposing him in the circle and wears the dripping blood as a badge of honor. The cotton wad up the nose is always a nice touch too.

Just yesterday, he greeted me with a joyous "Mommy!" Today, my "Yo, D" to catch his attention on the fly gets a "Yo Mama" in response. (And inspires a dual-sided fit of giggles!)

I'm so thankful I can still laugh and giggle with my little boy; that he hasn't outgrown me completely; that he will still tell me he loves me while on the phone from a friend's house.

Happy Birthday, young man of mine. I'm proud of you in ways you will never understand until you are a parent yourself. I love you with all my heart and am continually awestruck with the person you are becoming.

Love,
Yo Mama.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Another goodbye to a cherished pet

Even the sky cried.
January 31, 2005

Long lazy muscle stretches
Every time you rise.
That excited meow,
Each and every time, home we'd arrive.

Sharing treats,
even though they weren't good for you.
Your cuddles so wonderful,
whether we were sick, or just blue.

On the corner of my desk
you sat during coffee and email.
Reaching out, paw to cheek,
just to be sure I wouldn't ignore you.

I miss you so much,
the boys, even worse.
I hope you're ok
and gone is the hurt.
We laid you to rest
beneath a favored tree.
Your name etched forever
in the trunk, for all to see.

Rest well, be happy,
lay about in the sun.
Take care of God's house,
keep those mice on the run.

My final farewell
as tears fall from my eyes.
I'll always remember you -
For when you left us,
even the sky cried.

Some of my favorite posts

I'm pulling some of my favorite posts from my old journal. Call it historical data...whatever. They are things I want to remember...

From January 7, 2007



My Best Girl, Rest in Peace, Baby



Words won't come yet,
It's too soon, I suppose.


Nearly 15 years ago I brought you home,
Just a wee little ball of black fuzz.
You were cute beyond words.


Over the years,
We tried your patience so many times.
Kittens that grew to cats;
Puppies that grew to dogs;
Babies that grew to noisy and boisterous young boys.
And yet...you reigned supreme.


Even when you started growing old,
Even when illness started it's slow march,
You remained a force to be reckoned with.


I knew,
deep down in my heart,
This was to be your last winter.
I could tell you were tired,
that age was wearing you down.
And yet, you kept holding on.


Today, in the quiet of early morning,
You called out to me one last time.
One last look,
One last meow.
As I held you and rocked in your chair,
You slipped quietly away.


I'll miss you Missy Kitty.

Just one of my peeves

One quick way to set my teeth on edge... Ask the following question, or one of its variations:

1. Are you mad at me?

1a. Are you a little crabby?

1b. Are you hungry? (Because, well, I get really bitchy if I'm too hungry. The whole low blood sugar thing.)

These are especially prone to piss me off when asked within 10 minutes of you gracing my presence.

See, the thing is, I'm fairly easy to read most of the time. If there's a chance I'm mad about something, people are going to know. I'm either yelling about it, getting ready to yell about it, giving you the stone face, pausing to count to ten, or I turn and walk away. My anger is a very apparent emotion; I guess I'm not grown up enough to hide it quite yet. Sad, but true. However sad, it usually means there is absolutely no need to question my feelings. You don't have to ask and get some bitchy answer, and I don't have to try to fake it. It's just easier on everyone all around.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Starting fresh...with nothing to say

Quite recently, I learned that a friend left our old blogging site behind and started fresh here at blogger. She likes it better, she says. Actually, a few of the blogs I read are based here, and I have to say I like the presentation better than the other site. So, I'm going to give it a shot.

Today isn't the best day to start a new blog. I have nothing witty, sensational, snarky, or poignant to say. I slept in, so I have a sleep hangover and, so far, the coffee isn't burning it off. I should have thought about that before getting the bright idea to get this thing organized.