We had a really wonderful, and much needed weekend around here. Friday evening after work I ran to the grocery. Andrew transported kids, Robert worked, and we were all in bed at a very decent hour. And we SLEPT. I slept until 10 on Saturday morning. Thomas had stayed over for a friend's birthday party and was a little cranky on Saturday, but over all it was a fabulous day. I got lots of desk work done, Andrew got lots of yard work done, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. That evening Andrew and I attended an FFA banquet. It is ridiculously long, but I wanted to be there for the Ag kids I've grown to love this year. I was strangely emotional about seeing them at their final activity. I'm just crazy about most of those kids! After we got home, Andrew and I enjoyed a glass of wine sitting out on our front porch. It was exactly how I would love to spend all of our evenings if that was an option!
Sunday was another gorgeous day, and my gift was being able to sleep in again! I took Thomas and Catherine to visit my mother and grandmother while Robert worked. Andrew stayed home to get school things finished and then brought in Taco Bell (my request) for dinner. As we are nearing the end of the year, it was a pretty laid back Sunday evening, and I really, really loved this weekend. Andrew commented on how happy and relaxed I seemed, and I pointed out I was actually rested!
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Thursday, May 11, 2017
An hour from being into single digits
In an hour, school will be done for the day. I'm working again today, so I'll be honest, I'm kind of counting down the minutes until that happens. And when it does...we will be into single digits for the year! This was definitely the fastest year yet, and I know with Robert being a senior next year is going to go even faster. He actually only has four days of school left this year. It really is crazy.
I would love for this summer to just be full of fun from beginning to end, but as I told another parent this morning, I know that isn't the reality of how it is going to happen. I just hope that we do make some fun memories as the summer comes along!
I would love for this summer to just be full of fun from beginning to end, but as I told another parent this morning, I know that isn't the reality of how it is going to happen. I just hope that we do make some fun memories as the summer comes along!
I don't regret my decision, but I still feel guilty about it
This evening, Robert has the finals of the league track meet. Tuesday's prelims didn't go particularly well. He didn't qualify for finals in the 300m hurdles. We knew there was about a 50/50 chance he'd get in. He didn't run his fastest race of the season, and he needed to do that in order to guarantee getting to the finals. His 4X800m relay was run as a final, and it was pretty much a disaster. Our first runner was very strong, and he handed off in third place. Another mom and I were concerned because we knew our third leg runner is not particularly strong. Our second leg handed off in fourth place, and after the third leg we were about 200m out of being competitive. Robert ran anchor, and we realized the only team behind them had been disqualified. Because he had no chance of catching anyone in front of him, he was advised to just jog his 800m so he could save his strength for the hurdles. It was very disappointing to watch.
Tonight, he is scheduled to run in two more relay finals. One of them could be competitive, one of them most likely won't even be. I hate the thought of not being there, but I won't be. Neither will Andrew. He and Thomas are attending a football meeting this evening (I will write later about Thomas's horrific decision to play football this fall), and I am having dinner with friends. Normally I would never choose that over being there for my son, but this is different. This is our lifelong group of friends, and we are having a girls' dinner. We haven't done this since April of last year, and I haven't seen most of these friends since October. It's been entirely too long! I know that being there for my kids is important, but I also know how important it is to maintain friendships. I don't regret my decision and I know that Robert understands, but I still feel really guilty about it!
Tonight, he is scheduled to run in two more relay finals. One of them could be competitive, one of them most likely won't even be. I hate the thought of not being there, but I won't be. Neither will Andrew. He and Thomas are attending a football meeting this evening (I will write later about Thomas's horrific decision to play football this fall), and I am having dinner with friends. Normally I would never choose that over being there for my son, but this is different. This is our lifelong group of friends, and we are having a girls' dinner. We haven't done this since April of last year, and I haven't seen most of these friends since October. It's been entirely too long! I know that being there for my kids is important, but I also know how important it is to maintain friendships. I don't regret my decision and I know that Robert understands, but I still feel really guilty about it!
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
The overwhelming smell of french vanilla coffee
I am back at the high school again today. I had every intention of being off today. No jobs had been listed and I just wanted a day off. Last night though, a job in Spanish class appeared. I knew it wouldn't be an awful job, but I really wanted to be off. I told Andrew that I wouldn't take it unless it was still there when I got up this morning. He encouraged me to stay home. I explained to him though that if no one takes the job, Lynn (the woman in charge of subs) is going to call me and then I'm going to say I'll go in, so I might as well save everyone the trouble and just take the job and be there on time. That's exactly what I did, and here I am.
Near the teacher desk (with the most uncomfortable chair I've experienced yet this year) is a coffee maker. The scent of french vanilla coffee is almost overwhelming, and to be honest, it is way too tempting. I try not to consume many beverages on the days I work, and coffee is definitely not one that I should drink. It smells so good though!
Near the teacher desk (with the most uncomfortable chair I've experienced yet this year) is a coffee maker. The scent of french vanilla coffee is almost overwhelming, and to be honest, it is way too tempting. I try not to consume many beverages on the days I work, and coffee is definitely not one that I should drink. It smells so good though!
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Still cutting coupons
I have always been a coupon cutter. Even though it can be time consuming, it was always worth it and as a stay-at-home mom, I felt it was necessary. In fact, I found it was inexcusable to NOT take the time to cut out coupons. My mom cut them out and my grandmother cut them out. It's what we did. While many people would advise that I just buy generic, there were many times that I could get the brand name cheaper than generic. And there are also times that the generic brand just isn't going to cut it for my taste buds.
I'm noticing though, that the coupons are becoming less and less beneficial. Many times they are so specific in terms of size that buying a larger size can still be a better purchase. They also tend to be on products I would never use, or on items that are so expensive I wouldn't buy them anyway. There is also a push to go to electronic coupons. To be honest, I don't necessarily find this any more time effective. I still have to go through all of the options, and then the coupon is only good at that store. I can't use it at just any store I happen to stop into.
None-the-less, this morning I sat there and cut out all the coupons I could find. I plan to get to the grocery tomorrow, and the list needs to be done today. Any amount of money saved is worth it!
I'm noticing though, that the coupons are becoming less and less beneficial. Many times they are so specific in terms of size that buying a larger size can still be a better purchase. They also tend to be on products I would never use, or on items that are so expensive I wouldn't buy them anyway. There is also a push to go to electronic coupons. To be honest, I don't necessarily find this any more time effective. I still have to go through all of the options, and then the coupon is only good at that store. I can't use it at just any store I happen to stop into.
None-the-less, this morning I sat there and cut out all the coupons I could find. I plan to get to the grocery tomorrow, and the list needs to be done today. Any amount of money saved is worth it!
Too early in the week to feel this tired
It is Tuesday morning. We are only one full day into the week, and I am tired. Really, really tired. Yesterday was a longer day than I expected. When I arrived for my half day of work, they asked me to stay through the afternoon, and also to cover other classes during the plan period. I barely had time to eat lunch. Although I did expect to be here all day today, I am again covering extra classes, and it's not particularly fun to walk through the halls with students a foot taller than I am!
Anyway, last night was the year-end band concert, awards, & desserts for the band. I decided to ask parents to help donate desserts instead of attempting to bake 600 on my own. I had Robert and Thomas along to help, although Andrew was teaching his final night class of the year. Because I am in charge of such things, there is no leaving until everything is cleaned up. It was after 9:15 before we all got home.
This evening Robert has a track meet. It is the league competition, so even though it is raining it isn't going to be cancelled. They have informed us they will wait it out and do everything they can to get things in this evening. Robert runs in two events...the very first one and the second-to-last one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we are home by 10 and can be in bed shortly after.
I'm not currently scheduled to work tomorrow or Thursday, and I'm cautiously optimistic it will stay that way. I would certainly appreciate some extra sleep!
Anyway, last night was the year-end band concert, awards, & desserts for the band. I decided to ask parents to help donate desserts instead of attempting to bake 600 on my own. I had Robert and Thomas along to help, although Andrew was teaching his final night class of the year. Because I am in charge of such things, there is no leaving until everything is cleaned up. It was after 9:15 before we all got home.
This evening Robert has a track meet. It is the league competition, so even though it is raining it isn't going to be cancelled. They have informed us they will wait it out and do everything they can to get things in this evening. Robert runs in two events...the very first one and the second-to-last one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we are home by 10 and can be in bed shortly after.
I'm not currently scheduled to work tomorrow or Thursday, and I'm cautiously optimistic it will stay that way. I would certainly appreciate some extra sleep!
Monday, May 8, 2017
A rough trip to the amusement park
Things with Thomas are just emotionally tough these days. I know everything will most likely be fine, but he is at that tough age...right smack in the middle of the middle school years. Many things make me sad and nostalgic about my kids growing up. The fact that I will never have another seventh grader is not one of those things on the list.
Friday evening was a little rough just trying to get him ready. Andrew and I are working very hard on not taking our frustrations out on him and to remember that he is trying...his brain is just overwhelmed. At the same time, he has got to figure out how to function productively...that is a fact of life. Eventually we go things put together and ready to go for our 5:30 wake up time.
Andrew was willing to get up and take him, but as "mom", I needed to go over things with him one more time. I went back to bed as soon as they were out the door, and was very grateful for another few hours of sleep. When I got up, I began working on picking up the house, as well as many things that needed to be handled for my band volunteer job. About half way through the afternoon, the band director called. At first I was going to let it go to voicemail so I could handle whatever when I had a little more time. Then I remembered that he was in charge of my son, and I ran to the phone. Sure enough, Thomas had become sick on a roller coaster ride. I neglected to think about the impact of not eating enough on my motion-sickness-prone son. For whatever reason, an empty stomach is the worst for him. Both Thomas and the director assured me he'd be fine the rest of the trip, and since there were only two hours left at the park I was all for it.
Unfortunately, Thomas didn't eat anything else the rest of the day, and there was more sickness on the bus (twice) and again when Robert picked him up. Oh goodness! It sure is hard on a mom's heart to know your child is struggling. As soon as we were able to get food in him, he was chipper again, and slept very well that night.
As I said to Andrew, his system is just more fragile than most, and to a certain extent it has always been that way. I also pointed out to Andrew though, that President Kennedy was sickly as a child, so there are still lots of things that can be accomplished!
Friday evening was a little rough just trying to get him ready. Andrew and I are working very hard on not taking our frustrations out on him and to remember that he is trying...his brain is just overwhelmed. At the same time, he has got to figure out how to function productively...that is a fact of life. Eventually we go things put together and ready to go for our 5:30 wake up time.
Andrew was willing to get up and take him, but as "mom", I needed to go over things with him one more time. I went back to bed as soon as they were out the door, and was very grateful for another few hours of sleep. When I got up, I began working on picking up the house, as well as many things that needed to be handled for my band volunteer job. About half way through the afternoon, the band director called. At first I was going to let it go to voicemail so I could handle whatever when I had a little more time. Then I remembered that he was in charge of my son, and I ran to the phone. Sure enough, Thomas had become sick on a roller coaster ride. I neglected to think about the impact of not eating enough on my motion-sickness-prone son. For whatever reason, an empty stomach is the worst for him. Both Thomas and the director assured me he'd be fine the rest of the trip, and since there were only two hours left at the park I was all for it.
Unfortunately, Thomas didn't eat anything else the rest of the day, and there was more sickness on the bus (twice) and again when Robert picked him up. Oh goodness! It sure is hard on a mom's heart to know your child is struggling. As soon as we were able to get food in him, he was chipper again, and slept very well that night.
As I said to Andrew, his system is just more fragile than most, and to a certain extent it has always been that way. I also pointed out to Andrew though, that President Kennedy was sickly as a child, so there are still lots of things that can be accomplished!
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