I been a little down lately. I don't know if it's the change of weather (fall), the fact that my mom just left last week after a short visit, I'm not getting to work much lately at the hospital, or what? Change is hard and I'm definitely in a state of transition. I always thought I would be working more once both kids were in school but I'm realizing it's the opposite. I'll admit it, I like making money. And I don't want to work a job just to work. I want to feel like I'm doing something that really makes a difference (and be well compensated for it, too.) I guess I'm going to have to make some decisions regarding this.

One thing I always wanted to do once the kids were both in school was to volunteer at the Centre Volunteers in Medicine. I'm not a dentist or doctor or nurse, but I can take blood pressures, draw blood and answer phones. I'm attending an orientation for volunteers this Thursday evening to check it out. While it will be missing the money component, I can see how volunteering here would definitely be helping people and making a difference.

My mom and I had a good visit. It was short because I'm sure she doesn't like being away from my dad too long. He's 75 and is slipping a bit. Both kids asked why Papaw didn't come and I really didn't have a good answer. When my mom asked my dad about it, he said he didn't want to buy an airplane ticket. I guess money is more important to my dad than his grand kids. My son worships my dad. It does break my heart. I've been struggling with that a bit. My in-laws are better off financially than my parents but I doubt they will come here again since my mother-in-law has a hard time traveling. The Alzheimer's has gotten really bad and it's just too hard on everyone involved. But, my father-in-law makes an effort to see the kids by flying them up there or taking us on trips. And when he is around the kids, he's actually there with them. He reads to them, plays games, and engages. This is something my dad doesn't do.

I did have some fun this week. I saw Couple's Retreat and it was LOL funny. And then last night I played Bunco. I played Bunco when I lived in Wisconsin and it was always a lot of fun. One of the soccer moms from Clayton's team needed a sub so I got to go. I needed it.

I guess that's enough moaning for now. I need to see the good in this day. It is going to be a beautiful day and I'm finally over this cold. I want to get back on that treadmill or run outside today.

Update

My mom came after all. Clayton woke up Saturday and his fever was gone!!! Mom decided to come on up and take a chance. I couldn't post until this morning--didn't want to jinx anything. :) Kendall seems to be feeling well but I feel a little under the weather. I will push on though! (how often does a girl get to shop with her mom?)

Pete got home safe and sound last night, too. The kids were so excited. I was glad, too!

See ya!

Shucks...

I just got off the phone with my mom. She's decided to postpone her trip up here since it looks like the little guy might have the flu. I can't blame her. He came down with a fever and the cold /flu/ nasal stuff this morning. So, chances are, we are in for a few days of having a sick boy. And I would feel awful if she came here and caught whatever he had.

This evening his fever was 102 F. Poor guy.

So, the pressure's off to have a spotless house tomorrow. Of course, anyone who knows me, knows that one cannot eat off my kitchen floor! And my mom doesn't go around the house with a white glove. Still. It is one last thing to worry about tomorrow. I think having two sick kids is enough right now.

I'm ready for the weekend!

From getting pumpkins one day to driving through snow the next, this weather has been kinda freaky lately. We hardly had any summer (it was cold and rainy) and now we have snow on October 15! Of course, the kids are extremely excited. Wouldn't you know that they need new snow boots? I guess my kids are going to get bigger after all.

My husband will return home late Saturday night with Lilly. My mom arrives around 10 pm on Saturday, too. I can't wait to see her! I'm looking forward to seeing my man, too. :) Now, Lilly, I'm not really missing her but I'm sure the kids can't wait to see her. It's been nice coming home and knowing that none of the beds have been peed on by her.

I have to admit the single parent thing is getting old. I'm tired, y'all. Plus, Kendall had to be put on antibiotics due to a secondary infection from her cold about 3 weeks ago. We've been doing the breathing treatments at home and she even missed a day of school this week. I've had a hard time keeping up with the house since I've been driving here and there with kid appointments and such. I saw the second grade teacher today and asked how Kendall was at school. Mrs. E. said Kendall walked into class today and exclaimed, "I'm on antibiotics for diabetes!" To which Mrs. E. corrected her and said, "for bronchitis!"



To make my week a little busier, I had to meet with the speech pathologist at school regarding Clayton. Just before the meeting, I tried my had at a tarte tatin. It was supposed to be turned out onto a platter (so the crust is on the bottom, apples on the top) but the apples stuck to the cast iron. I think I know what I did so next time I'll be careful. Anyway, it turns out my son has a lisp. I know he's hard to understand sometimes so I think it might be time to try to correct it. He was evaluated when he was 4 and was OK for his age then, but I guess he isn't where he needs to be for age 5+. At least it can be done at the school during normal school hours.

I guess I should wrap this up. I've got to get those kids in and feed them dinner. Well, I should, anyway!

Another day, another pumpkin....

I went with Clayton's kindergarten class yesterday to a farm. I think every kindergarten class in town does this trip. They get on a hay wagon and ride to a spot where someone has laid out little pumpkins for the children to "pick." I'm sure the city kids think this is really the country. My kids (I hope) know better.

Anyway, two of the girls in my group and a boy from another group got scared walking through the corn maze so I had to step out with them and wait for the rest of the class to finish. Yep, I didn't get to go through the maze with my son. Too bad the parents of the pansy boy wasn't there so they could wait with him. Oh well. Clayton, being the good kid he is, understood. I whispered in his ear when he came out of the maze to explain. Evidently, the boy that I waited with does this kind of thing often. Clayton's teacher apologized when she found out I had to wait with him.

In some happy news, I heard a really good story on NPR this morning after dropping the kids off. Sometimes I hear the best stories and smile. Here is a link to the story. The part where they played the tape made me smile and gave me chills. I could picture everything. But, this guy in the story made me realize to live life to the fullest and don't settle for mediocrity.

"What can I do?"

I guess my son needs more structure than I give him. Yesterday we were busy with the apple festival at Way Fruit Farm. Kendall and Clayton did the petting zoo and we rode the wagon thing to go out to the field to pick our pumpkins. It was fun! The weather turned out great.






Today, I got the kids up and off we went to church. We were only 5 to 10 minutes late, which for us, is really good. At 1 pm, we went to Clayton's soccer game and then home. Kendall is a little under the weather so we skipped her game today. And then the question I heard was, "What can I do?" If I heard it once, I heard it 30 times. Ugh! Of course, everything I suggest isn't what he wants to hear (clean your room, pick up toys, build Lego's, color, etc.) I have no clue how to handle a kid that needs to be told how to entertain himself! He even gets bored watching TV! I'm glad he doesn't want to sit there all day and watch TV, but I really don't know what to say to him. He wanted someone to play with but his sister didn't feel well and the neighborhood kids weren't around. I'm glad he goes back to school tomorrow.

some of the teammates on Clay's soccer team

So, it's another week. I'm chaperoning for the kindergarten field trip tomorrow. Yes, we're going out to a farm and getting more pumpkins. :-)

Another week and what the heck did I do?

Wow! It's Friday already. Where did the week go and just what did I do with my time? I'm still working on setting up some sort of routine for the week but I'm afraid by the time I come up with a plan, the Christmas holidays will be here. You see, it's now hunting season in our house and Pete leaves for Wisconsin tomorrow. Yes, he will be gone 10 days. I think this is the first year that I don't feel overwhelmed about it. Maybe going to France for 10 days in September is keeping it all in perspective. Or maybe, life is a little easier this year. Both kids are in school all day now and I really, really appreciate the free time. Last year at this time, we had a 4 month old puppy who was still peeing all over the place. Lilly has calmed down a bit and I think she's stopped making some mistakes on our furniture. But, I am so excited this year that she is going to be gone for 10 days! The old dog is staying here (she's retired) but she is no trouble. (Well, I take that back. She likes to wander off and eat "stuff" and then throw it up for me.) But, she will sleep through the night and she doesn't whine. Heck, my kids still whine. So, you can sense my excitement! Also, last year at this time I was still very anxious about the diagnosis of the Hep C. So glad that is behind me now.

So, back to what I did with my week. Pete was gone most of this week with work stuff so it was a busy week. Monday was soccer night for Kendall. Her team did a great job. One of the dads from her team was so obnoxious that I could have stuffed a sock down his throat. I felt like he was putting some unnecessary pressure on his girls and the rest of the team. I hope he's not there Sunday.

Tuesday was a free day after school. You gotta love those days where you can just go home and not rush out the door to something else. We all got our hair cut that evening so that was about it.

Wednesday morning I took my old cat to the vet. He can't see very well. It turns out he has a blood clot in one eye and the beginning of a retinal tear in the other. Poor kitty. I may have to give him some medicine and get special food for him. The vet thinks the eye problems could be related to high blood pressure. I had lunch with the mom of a friend from high school later on that day. We always have such a good time. We had Indian food and sat there for two hours just chatting away. Wednesday night Clayton had soccer but the baby sitter met me at the field and stayed with Clay and Kendall. Pete was out of town and I had my support group meeting that night. There are only 3 of us but we keep meeting once a month. We want to be there for anyone out there suffering with the diagnosis with Hep C. I ran into Clayton's coach after the game and he said that Clay had an awesome game. Of course, I missed it. Oh, I also ran into a mom from the school. It was one of those moments when you wish you could just turn back the clock by 30 seconds: "Hi! Where's your husband? Fighting fires?" (He is a fire fighter, after all) I asked. To which she said very loudly to me, "He left us three weeks ago! I don't know where he is." Oh gosh. I felt so bad for her and her boys. I offered my sympathy and told her if there was anything I could do, to just let me know. I meant it.

Thursday was Girls' Night Out. Now, don't get any ideas. We're just a bunch of stay home moms that go out to eat once a month. I haven't been in forever due to traveling. It was nice to catch up. I ate too much dinner and had dessert, too. I will never learn. I guess the reason I had dessert was I ran earlier in the day and had a good run.

So, it's Friday. I did laundry, returned some defective Levi's for Pete and cleaned the house a little. It's been rainy today. I'm not ready for the next 10 days, but it will all be OK. My mom will be coming a day before Pete gets back. I can't wait to see her!

Have a glorious weekend, everyone!

This week

I'm taking a break from the recap of France. I feel like this has been a busy week, but exciting. I'm still trying to figure out this stay-at-home-thing-when-your-kids-are-in-school-all-day. I do like to bake and I definitely have more time for that. I have to admit, grocery shopping without a kid hanging on the basket is really nice. I buy less junk and I don't have to say no the whole time I'm there. I would like to have some kind of work, however. I'm a reluctant homemaker. I do like having more time to exercise, especially in the morning when I have more energy. I did get back into the weekly Bible study this week that I did the last year. It was great to see those women again. I'm going to try to exercise with a friend once a week and have the occasional lunch with the mom of an old high school friend. But, I need more. I will set up some time to volunteer at the kids' school and there is a medical clinic that provides free health care in the community where I could possibly do something there. But, it's nice bringing home a paycheck, too. The local hospital doesn't have a permanent position in Nuclear Medicine, so I just fill in when they take days off. I didn't get the job for which I was invited to apply. I was relieved, though. The more I thought about it, the more I wished I hadn't accepted the invitation to interview. So, I learned a lesson here. I want to work, but I want to do something that will give me some satisfaction, too. I'm lucky since I can choose to work or not.

Some things that are different this week are:

I won 1st place in the Arts and Architecture category photo contest at work this week. The picture will be hung on the wall in the hospital where they hang people's artwork.

Pete and Clayton flew to Boston on Friday to see my in-laws. Kendall and I are having a girls' weekend. After school yesterday, she and I went shopping. She was more enamored with the idea than actually doing it. I guess I'll have to wait until she a teenager to actually shop all day with her.

We are going to see Cirque du Soleil this afternoon. The show is called Alegria. I can't wait and I think it will be so much fun. Afterward, we will go out to the restaurant of Kendall's choice. She picked Baby's because she likes their hot dogs. :)

Oh, and Kendall has decided to drop ballet. I'm not disappointed, I have to say. She and Clayton are into soccer and that is really enough right now.

So, that's the recap of this week. I'm sure there is a bunch of stuff I forgot. I must try to blog more regularly....