The new normal

Breakfast for dinner, that's the new normal.  Matt has begun to travel for work and we are a family of three for some of the week.  Let's see how long it takes to exhaust this genre of meals :)

Isn't she lovely

M has been begging, begging, and begging to get her ears pierced.  For a while we always told her that she had to be 12, which was a completely arbitrary number, in order to get them pierced.  Then over the summer one of my friends had her daughter's ears pierced.  She felt that if the kid was ready then go for it.  Why wait, what's going to change in 6 years?

Saturday was the day.  We got a sitter to watch G so we didn't have to deal with The Beast while punching a hole in our daughter's ears.  Questions in the car centered around if it would hurt.  We did not lie to her, but we could not quite explain how it would hurt.  All I could think of was that it felt like a shot in the arm - once you start to feel the pain it's already over.  I hoped.  She knew exactly where to go once we got into the mall.  She was all smiles while Matt filled out the paperwork.  She was even all smiles while the lady cleaned her earlobes and used the purple marker for the holes.  Now that I think about it, I think Claire's used a purple marker when I got mine pierced many years ago.

Before

When the girl pierced the first ear, I thought we were going to lose her.  Her face when slack and her grip on Matt's hand was non-existent.  She whispered that she didn't want to get the second one done.  I thought I was going to cry hearing her say this.  The crowd of people watching, all at the same time, said, "Oh no, you have to get the other one."  The girl quickly pierced the second ear before she slid off the chair.

Poor kid!

Matt quickly changed the topic by having her pick out some earrings for when she can take the studs out.  She was a different girl when we got out into the mall.  She would not stop prattling about how it hurt but now it doesn't, hey that store sells earrings, when can I wear my new peace sign earrings.  I think adrenaline has a funny effect on her.  Some cake and hot chocolate took her mind off the whole thing :)

Too cute, huh?!

 Since Saturday, we've been religiously cleaning her ears 2-3 times a day.  Her lobes are still a bit sore, but she pushes through it.  The only question I have is, how long should they be sore?  The good news is that she looks super cute!

Drowning

Just when did I think that case managing students in three grade levels was a good idea.  Now, to toot my own horn (insert horn sound here), I can handle a lot of students and know what's happening at all times.  Not this year.  Two intermediate grades and one primary grade is not working.  They all need such varied support and I am only one person.  The other question is, why do all of the kids need support from 9:15-10:15 in the morning?  How about spreading the love across the day?  Just a thought.


I am trying to talk with my principal to see if he has any suggestions, such as hiring another teacher (insert hysterical laugh here).  It seems that the district motto is do more with less so I can't see that happening, unless I have a nervous breakdown.  I suspect that will happen by this time next week.


Stay tuned.

Can spiders live in vacuum bags?

Today was clean the house if it kills us day.  Our return from Germany was so close to the start of the school year that we didn't have the time to get the house in working order before working was in order.  There was no way I had the energy last weekend to even attempt anything more than the dishes.

Matt started the day off with the basement.  Oh, the basement.  It has been severely neglected for some time.  Not that it was gross, but the original organization of the toys was a distant memory.  I heard the vacuum running while I occupied Gavin upstairs.  When Matt came upstairs for a break, I thanked him for dealing with the abyss.  He said, "Oh I'm not done, that was just half the basement."  Apparently he decided to move the couches and evict the spiders living in all the dark spots (and that really gross spider web that spilled out over of the window sill for the whole family to see the victims of its owner).  One estimate tops 30 spiders.  Once his blood sugar was back up, he finished up the basement by lunchtime.   

There really is carpet down here

It is so beautiful to walk through the house and not step on bits of whoknowswhat that the kids dropped along the way.  The worst was over by the highchair.  I hate eating on a carpeted surface, but it's all the space we've got in our house.  Upon close inspection I could make out rice, bits of Veggie Straws, a Cheerio, a Lucky Charms marshmallow, and a really dried up green bean.  When the vacuum rolls over G's spot it sounds like the coin machine counting our spare change at the bank.  How long will it last?  I don't know, but for now it's a beautiful thing.

No buisness

There are many things that I should be doing this week, there are many things that I have no business doing, and several things I wish I was doing this week.


What I should be doing
School schedules - Come on the kids have been in class for a week and a half.  I just can't bring myself to work on them once I get home.

Working out - I was on a great schedule before vacation, but I can only seem to make it to the gym once a week

Cleaning the house - oh my goodness is my house a disaster.  Thankfully Matt and I have been able to at least keep up with the dinner dishes.  I can't stand waking up to the smell of last night's dinner festering in the sink.

What I have no business doing
Catching up on my guilty pleasure, Big Brother.  While the drama is so stupid I can't stop watching human beings being impressionable upon each other.  Plus Julie Chen's outfits are usually something to laugh at.


Facebook - the time abyss that is Facebook - 'nuff said.


What I want to be doing
Sleeping in - Oh 5:45 is such an evil time of the morning.  I was especially upset on Wednesday morning when I thought it was Saturday.  Evil.


Buying school clothes and shoes - going on vacation so late in August prevented the usual back to school shopping.  I was really unhappy with my warm weather work clothes at the end of last year, and I am more unhappy with them at the beginning of the year. 


Playing with my kids - homework, dinner, dishes, baths, bed - there is no time for playing in there.  I suppose weekends will become sacred at the homestead.