Surviving Life

A houseful of drunks...

2008-12-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning's conversation with Lauren:

Lauren: Where's daddy?
Me: Where do you think daddy went?
Lauren: Daddy at him friend's house drinkin' a beer?
Me: (choke on mountain dew, giggle hysterically) No, Daddy's at work!
Lauren: Daddy at him work drinkin' a beer?
Me: (totally speechless from laughing so hard)

The weirdest thing about this is that while yes, we have beer in the house, I can't even remember the last time Jim went out with a friend, and I don't recall ever telling her that Daddy was drinkin' beer with his friends.

I wonder what she tells the babysitter.

Snow

2008-11-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

I love snow. I hate driving in snow. I especially hate driving in snow so heavy I can't see the highway ten feet in front of the car.

It was a long drive home tonight.

Random pictures

2008-11-18T09:18:00.001-08:00

Oliver

2008-11-18T09:13:00.001-08:00

Lest you think I forgot a child yesterday, here is the last of my kid updates.

Oliver is 9 1/2 months old.
- He has five teeth.
- He LOVES to have his armpits tickled.
- He's starting to cruise around the furniture, and he pushes his sister's princess toy around the house. When he crawls, he uses his left knee and his right foot, so that he's in position to sit/stand whenever he gets to where he's going - I'll have to videotape it for posterity.
- He eats everything he finds on the floor. I vacuum every day, because I HATE to have to dig for slobbery carpet fuzz/dried up food/small toys when he's gagging on them.
- He has an unhealthy obsession with the laptop power cord. It's the best toy in the house, apparently. Oh, how I wish for a new mac with the magnetic power connection, but alas, it is not to be.

Lauren

2008-11-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

Lauren turned two in September, and she's been driving me CRAZY ever since! :) She's beautiful and SO SMART, but man is that girl strong-willed!

- She loves to watch Dora the Explorer and Yo Gabba Gabba - these are "mine shows" in Lauren-speak. I bought her a hideous bright yellow Yo Gabba Gabba t-shirt at Walmart last week that she now loves.

- She talks. All the time. And if you don't answer her, she keeps repeating herself 'til you do. At her 2-year checkup, the doctor said that a "typical" two year old knows around 50 words; I'd put her at knowing at least several hundred. She can't say her "l"s, so her name sounds like "warren." :) Currently: where your sketti go? in the mic-wave? you gonna eat it now? my sketti spillin' on mine lap. I get it. I eat with my fingers. you usin' yours fork?

- She also loves to sing. I have a video of her singing "you are my sunshine" which I'll have to upload one of these days.

- She twists her hair around her fingers when she's tired, which has led to great big tangles, and a haircut last week. She looks very grown up now. :)

- her favorite new game is to "wessle" with her brother, who just finished a wrestling program at school and likes to practice his moves on her.

- potty training is not going so well. I thought over the summer that we'd have it done by the time she turned two, but she lost interest. She says "no wear pannees, I want a diaper!" *sigh*

- she's been hitting and pushing Oliver around, and then she says "I mean to Oliver. I sit in time-out now." And she runs to the time-out chair all by herself. Somehow I don't think this is how it's supposed to work.

Matthew

2008-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

Matthew is keeping busy with school and homework and his friends.
- He seems to have totally adjusted to wearing glasses, and he doesn't really complain about wearing them at all any more.
- He's doing better in school, but I think there's room for improvement. I'm not sure what to do about it, though - I'm usually gone (in class) when he's doing his homework in the afternoons, and we're not getting a lot of feedback from the school about his progress. I think I'm going to just relax about it and see how the rest of the year goes. I know he's a smart kid, and C's in 3rd grade really aren't going to follow him forever. He seems to understand the material, but he's having trouble staying focused more than anything. We're still having issues with him complaining about reading - not sure what's up with that. It worked GREAT when we committed to turning off the tv at 8 every night and everyone read from 8 to 9, but that only lasted...oh...a week? Maybe we'll try that again.
- I finally gave up and cleaned his room for him. I threw away two bags of trash, and put the junk in boxes. Next task, sorting the junk. He has way too much stuff.
-Nothing much else going on in his life. School, homework, and playing..that's about it.

Jen's parenting advice for today

2008-11-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

When your small children are driving you crazy, just strap 'em in their high chairs and plop them in front of Yo Gabba Gabba. Tell yourself that it's so you can write the paper that is due today, but instead of writing your philosophy of education, write blog posts instead.

Happy Monday! :)

"Can I take a nap instead?"

2008-09-27T12:42:00.001-07:00

Another example of my stellar parenting skills:

Matthew is in third grade. His reading goal for the 9 weeks is 20 Reading Counts points, achieved by taking tests over approved books at his level. He's been reading the same book since the first week of school. Yes, it's a long book, and yes, it's a bit advanced for him, but he chose it, and I wasn't about to let him give up halfway through because it was "too hard." (It's not too hard, by the way.)

So we've been working really hard at reading every night, but I don't get home from class till after 8 most nights, so it's been slow going. He has TWO chapters left. Probably 30 minutes of reading if he focuses. I told him an hour ago, after he played all day, that he needed to finish his book.

He brings his book into the kitchen, where I'm feeding Oliver some disgusting pureed ham and apples, and starts to play with Oliver.

Mom: Matthew, go read someplace where you won't be distracted.

Kid: But I thought I'd read out here with you.

Mom: Please go read someplace where you won't be distracted.

But I'll be kind of lonely out there (Note: "out there" means seven feet away in the livingroom.)

Mom: Go read now or you'll have to read in your room.

Can I go to the bathroom first?

Mom: Yes, you may go to the bathroom, but then you need to start reading.

Five minutes later, I hear the sound of someone slithering across the floor behind the couch. Lauren is in her high chair eating raisins, and Oliver is sitting by my feet.

Mom: Matthew?

What? (Sticks head out from behind couch, where he's apparently been hiding)

Mom: What are you doing?

Nothing...

Mom: Why aren't you reading?

I don't know.

Mom: Please get your book.

(Gets book, opens to right chapter, starts reading aloud verrrrrry slowly in annoying high-pitched voice. I ignore.)

Mom, I have....(flips pages)...only twelve pages left!

Mom: Quit counting and READ THEM!

(Flops over on the couch. A moment later, slides to an upside-down position and tries to read his book upside-down hanging over the edge of the couch.)

Mom: Okay, apparently you can't focus on your book out here. Please go to your room.

(acts shocked) But....I was going to read!

Mom: Please go read in your room. You can come out when you finish the book.

But....

Mom: You may not come out until your book is finished.

Can I take a nap instead?

Mom: I don't care, but I don't want to see you out here again until your book is finished. So if you start to get hungry or thirsty, you'd better read faster.

Can I have a drink now?

Mom: Yes, you may have a drink now. You have ten seconds. One, two, three.... (he sits and looks at me until about seven, then runs to the kitchen)

Mom: Now take your book and go. (He stomps to his room and slams the door)

30 minutes later, door opens, kid emerges.

Mom....

Mom: Is your book done?

No, but...

Mom: Then go back in your room.

But I fell asleep!

Mom: Go back in your room.

(slams door again)

Five minutes later, door opens again.

Mom, what can I have to eat?

Mom: GO BACK IN YOUR ROOM UNTIL YOUR BOOK IS FINISHED.

(meekly returns to room)

Two minutes later:

Moooommmm?

Mom: You'd better be bleeding.

My ear thingy came off my glasses.

(I fix the ear thingy, which he apparently pulled off, and sent him back to his room again.)

Another five minutes passes.

Mom, I only have two short chapters left. Can I please read out there? (Note: he only had two short chapters left when he was sent to his room. Progress in the last hour or so: 0 pages)

Mom: GET IN YOUR ROOM NOW! I don't want to see or hear you again till your book is finished!

(Seriously....I really don't get why he doesn't like to read. I read at least two or three books a week on top of my college class reading. His reading ability is considerably above grade level. We have TONS of books in the house, we often read together, and we've been reading to him since he was a baby. So I'm not sure where this is coming from. Probably the same place where the D's on math tests are coming from.)

Eight questions for the Powers That Be...

2008-09-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

1. How is it possible that my not-quite-crawling baby can spot ONE TINY SPECK OF DIRT halfway across the house, and manage to scoot all the way there and have it in his mouth in 3.2 seconds?

2. Why is it so much more fun for two-year-olds to take pots and pans out of cupboards than it is to put them back in?

3. Why am I the worst mom ever because my eight-year-old can't watch television until his room is clean? (He's had the ability to earn tv rights for FOUR WEEKS, and yet he resists. Eventually the bedroom will be condemned by the health department, or maybe I'll find a family of raccoons nesting in the closet clutter.)

4. Why do I hate cleaning my kitchen, when I love having a clean kitchen?

5. What's wrong with wrinkly laundry?

6. Why am I writing blog posts when I should be studying?

7. Who the heck came up with the idea for Yo Gabba Gabba?

8. Why didn't I take a nap when I had a chance today?

Kid update

2008-07-21T06:16:00.001-07:00

Oliver will be 6 months old next week! I can't believe how quickly this past year has gone. He's starting to sit on his own, and he can roll over (if he wants to - he's usually content to stay where I put him). We started feeding him cereal, but he's not too interested in it yet. He's babbling and cooing all the time, and he's such a happy baby. :)

Lauren is well into the "terrible twos" even though her birthday isn't until September. We're working on potty-training, which has been interesting. She wants to empty the potty all by herself. She wears the potty on her head and calls it a hat. She likes to run around naked yelling "no diaper!" It seems like it's just one battle after another with this one. But she's so sweet...yesterday I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything, and she kept coming up and saying "Mommy sad? Hug? Tiss? Mommy all better!"

Matthew Matthew has been spending the summer watching tv, playing with Lauren and Oliver, swimming at the pool, riding his bike, and playing video games. What a life, eh? He's excited about starting third grade in the fall.

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20999531@N05

Com 410 Unit 5

2008-04-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Unit 5 was about gender issues in the classroom and the workplace. We talked about the different ways male and female students and employees are treated differently - I thought it was really interesting to find out that many teachers give male students longer to answer questions! We also looked at gender bias in textbooks - this isn't something I've ever really noticed, but it's something I'll pay attention to in the future.

The other thing I really focused on in this unit is the differences between men and women when balancing school/work and families. It seems that even though more and more men are taking responsibility for child rearing, it's still the woman's job to do most of the parenting. And when women are also students or members of the workforce, our plates get really full! We discussed in the forum a lot about how women seem to be much better at multitasking - I'm still wondering whether this is partly biological or if it's completely a cultural phenomenon.

Com 410 Unit 4

2008-04-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Unit 4 focused on gender issues related to friendship and romantic relationships, as well as power issues.

One of the things I found most interesting was the issue of power versus empowerment. This was listed by the text as one of the common tensions within romantic relationships. I find that this is the issue that most frequently causes tension in my own relationship - we usually both want to be the one with the power and in control. I don't think either one of us is good at making sure the other is empowered. I really think that working on this issue would help a lot in our relationship.

Time-Turners

2008-04-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

(Alternate title: how to cram 15 hours of video lectures into four or five hours)

In one of the Harry Potter books, Hermione uses a time-turner so that she can take twice the number of classes as anyone else. Sounds crazy, right?

Yeah. I need one.

Fifteen 50-minute lectures for my history class that I haven't watched yet. Exam to be finished by 11:59 pm. I'm at work till 3. Kids and supper and baths etc also will need done.

*sigh*

Com 410 Unit 3

2008-03-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

One thing I thought was really interesting is how our society uses language to reflect how we see gender. I have an ongoing interest in linguistics, and this is one of the things about language that fascinates me: Language simultaneously reflects and shapes culture. Another interesting thought: the words we choose to use say something about who we are, both as individuals and as a member of a particular culture.

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language and thought are interconnected. Therefore, using nonsexist language is the first step towards nonsexist thought - and when our thoughts are not gender-biased, neither will our society be.

There are several examples of sexist language - some of them are obvious, some of them are more subtle, and some of them I'd never even thought of before!

Man-linked terminology involves terms like "manned space flight" or "a man of few words," as well as words like mankind, watchman, foreman, etc. The text suggests using alternative words and phrases to avoid these types of sexist language.

Another example is the problem with pronouns. I was taught that the masculine pronouns were acceptable as a general pronoun for all humans. On the other hand, we often make assumptions about the sex of a person based on other information, such as occupation. It seems obvious that this tendency is outdated, but it's still common for college students today to identify lawyers, judges, and engineers with a masculine pronoun, and babysitters, teachers and nurses with a feminine pronoun.

I also thought the concept of "marking" was very interesting. This involves using a sex-identifying adjective in front of a noun in order to designate it as unusual - the lady officer, the male teacher, the female soldier, etc. This marking tends to have an isolating affect on people singled out as "abnormal."

Com 410 Unit 2

2008-03-30T12:33:00.001-07:00

Unit 2 was primarily about gender roles in our society, especially regarding media portrayals of gender.

When we were studying Unit 2, I had a hard time thinking about media depictions of gender roles, because it wasn't something I ever paid much attention to. Since then, I've been more mindful of the stereotypes portrayed by the media, especially in sitcoms.

I've noticed several things: Most notably, men are almost always portrayed as stupid. They don't know how to take care of their kids. They make fun of their wives, and get in trouble. They lie and hide things, and get caught. Women are almost always portrayed as more intelligent. However, women are shown to be more emotional and less rational, somewhat vindictive and angry, and they're always bad cooks! Whether or not a woman has a job outside the house, her primary role shown in sitcoms is that of a homemaker.

I need to spend some more time paying attention to this....it's very interesting.

Com 410 Unit 1

2008-03-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

(This post is the first in a series of observations and thoughts about what I'm learning in my Com 410 - Gender Communications class.)

In Unit 1, we looked at our preconceived notions of gender communication, talked about the basic definitions and terms involved in the idea of gender communication, and we looked at the "personal effectiveness" approach to gender communication.

I was also really interested in the six values the text talked about that are valuable in long-term effectiveness in gender communications. The values I thought were most important:

Value 1: Equality of Power. I think equality of power in gender communication is one of the most important in my life, especially in my communication with my husband. In our relationship, much of the conflict stems from issues of power and control. My husband was an only child in a household which gave him an unhealthy amount of power over the family dynamics. Sometimes he seems to think the entire world revolves around him, and he expects to be in control of many situations that should involve our shared influence. Therefore, working towards an even distribution of power is important for us to be able to communicate effectively. I like how the text defines empowerment as the shared approach to power that capitalizes on each partner’s strengths in the relationship.

Value 2: Talking About it Makes it Better. Again, relating to my personal life, I think this is another critical aspect of effective gender communication. My husband is one of the stereotypical “keep it bottled up inside until you explode” types, which leads to a great deal of conflict and struggle within our relationship. A mutual understanding of the benefits of talking things over would help us have more successful communication in our relationship. On the other hand, the common opinion is that men don’t agree with this value, and they’d much rather ignore problems or pretend they don’t exist rather than risk a “relationship conversation.”

Value 5: Being Open-Minded and Willing to Change. The text states that “open-mindedness and the ability to change are positive values for all relationships.” I think this is a very important part of effective communication in any form. The willingness to listen to the other person and to change one’s mind when necessary is crucial to a good interpersonal dynamic – why should I talk to you if I know I’ll never succeed in getting through to you? One recent example of this: My husband and I have been trying to sell our expensive SUV and get a cheaper vehicle, but with three kids, our options are fairly limited. I was dead set against a minivan (I was hoping for a roomy wagon or crossover), but he convinced me that the extra space in a minivan would be worth the humiliation of driving it.

Value 6: Treating Another Person as an Individual. Finally, treating everyone as an individual goes a long way towards effective communications. Besides the obvious avoidance of characterizing my husband as just another insensitive jerk who forgot my birthday (which is inaccurate and not helpful in any way, even if he did forget my birthday), noticing individuality helps us to make the most of interactions with others by not having preconceived notions of how the other person will behave.

The kids

2008-03-29T05:42:00.001-07:00

Keeping Up

2008-03-29T05:26:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to commit to posting every day. I can manage to spend a bit of time each day reading blogs, so I oughta be able to write each day too, right?

I have a moment of relative quiet right now....Oliver is asleep; Matthew's watching YouTube videos on his computer, and Lauren is in her high chair eating breakfast and watching Franklin.

I think I figured out how to add my flickr photos as a widget. If you read this, let me know if it works, okay?

running commentary of a conversation with a seven year old.

2008-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

(punctuated by occasional uh-huhs from me....)

I'll be 17 when Lauren's....11....I'll be 19 when she's 12, I'll be 20 when she's 8.

I'm going to have to wait till I'm 18 to get my driver's license, won't I? Because I was born in the summer, I'm gonna get my driver's license late? Like I'm prob'ly gonna have to wait till summer?

Please tell me not to fall asleep? Because I wanna stay awake because I have all my legos up here. But, I'm kinda sleepy.

Is it raining? Because the screen is really fuzzy.

Okay. this guy has a broken arm and a broken hand.

Ten things I should be doing right now, and why I'm not doing them.

2007-10-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

1. Writing one of my five late articles for my journalism class. (I'm already so far behind, what's one more day? And I'm not sure she'll accept them late anyway. And they're saved on the other computer, which is a whole twelve steps away from where I sit on the couch.)

2. Working on the essay test for my anthropology class. (Because the due date was postponed till Wednesday, and it's just totally not cool to start on an exam before the day it's due.)

3. Washing dishes. (I already did them once today.....why should I have to do 'em again?)

4. Sorting/washing/folding/putting away the four loads of laundry that are piled on the bedroom floor. (blah. I hate laundry)

5. Editing and uploading Josh's wedding photos. (See above note about distance from couch to other computer....)

6. Cleaning out my filthy stinky truck. (It's cold outside. And raining.)

7. Giving the dog a bath, because she stinks. (There's baby toys in the bathtub that I'd have to clean out.)

8. Figuring out what healthy and delicious meal to make for supper. (We're having leftovers, so there.)

9. Rescuing my daughter from her bedroom, since it seems she has absolutely no inclination to take a nap. (She's having a good time practicing her new skill of climbing into and out of her toddler bed. Why deprive her of the fun? Besides, maybe she'll get sleepy eventually.)

10. Vacuum. (See note on laundry.)

Congrats to the Ross family!

2007-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Tiffany, my best friend from high school, and her husband Troy welcomed their QUADRUPLETS to the world yesterday! Mom and all four babies are doing well. Please keep the Ross family in your prayers.

(their blog: www.rossquads.blogspot.com)

Musings, and updates.

2007-08-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

1. Okay, so I haven't posted since April. I know, I know, the three people who stumbled across my blog have been holding their breath waiting for the next installment, right? Riiiight.

But seriously? How do so many people (moms especially) have time for this stuff? I really had every intention of keeping up with it, but I spent all summer so busy I barely had time to breathe, and now with my new job and school and stuff, things are even more crazy!

So, blogging moms out there, how do you do it? Right now, Matthew's watching tv in his room (yes, his homework's all done!) and Lauren is taking a late nap (which I'll pay for later when she won't go to bed). I should be cooking supper and/or studying. Do you just not sleep? Or are you super-duper time managers? I just barely muddle through my days, and it seems like there are moms out there who do everything right (healthy cooking, attachment parenting, cloth diapering, etc, etc) and even have time to blog about it! Am I just jealous, or delusional?

2. We're pregnant. Again. Lauren and the new babe will be 17 months apart. I'm terrified, excited, all of that. Jim wasn't too thrilled at first, but yesterday, out of the blue, he says "I don't like odd numbers." Heh. I don't know.

Along with the pregnancy comes the fact that we make too much for any type of government assistance, but way too little to pay to have a baby!

3. I have a new job. I work Monday through Friday from 10:45 to 2:45 at Matthew's school as a resource room aide. I like it - it's fairly low-stress, it works around my school schedule, and I get done when Matthew gets out of school. If only it paid more! (Most of what I make goes to day care. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the baby's born and I have to pay for daycare for two!)

4. I'm still working on my undergrad degree...this is year six....I really should hurry up and graduate, but even making a teacher's salary isn't going to clear us much after paying for daycare for two babies. *sigh* This semester I have one class on campus and three internet courses. So far it's going well.

5. Lauren will be a year old in less than 3 weeks! She's walking everywhere now, and starting to talk, although it's still mostly babbling. She's really been working hard on the motor skills lately.

6. Matthew is in second grade! He like his teacher, and seems to be doing really well so far.

7. Jim still hates his job, but that's nothing new.

So, there you go. My life in a nutshell. Now the baby's awake, supper is long overdue, and the dog is barking to be let back in the house.

It's flipping snowing!

2007-04-14T18:09:00.001-07:00

Mid-April in Indiana = snow.

We're supposed to autocross tomorrow.

Blah.

I have nothing to say.

2007-04-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, that's unusual. I have absolutely nothing of interest to report.

Fajitas and Margaritas

2007-04-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

We invited family and friends over on Tuesday night for our famous margaritas and fajitas. Lots of fun was had by all!

(more videos to come, but my upload speed is sloooooowwww today)

I had the bright idea to videotape while tipsy so I could send the video to Matt, who's pub-hopping in Ireland currently, but will soon be back in Iraq. We miss you, Matt!

test: embedding video

2007-04-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

so, we're seeing if this works.

Planet Earth

2007-04-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Wow. I caught part of Oprah the other day about this show on the Discovery Channel. Very cool.

Four Things About Me

2007-03-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

I feel obligated to write a biographical post, but I'm boring, and I have a boring life. In the interests of spicing it up a little bit, here's "Four Things About Me."

(I'm not done, but the baby's awake. Check back for revisions...)

Four Places I have worked:
1. Wal-Mart (cashier - bleh.)
2. Decatur City Pool (lifeguard - best job EVER)
3. North Adams Community Schools (substitute teacher)
4. Adams Central Community Schools (middle school swim coach)

Four movies I watch over and over:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Moulin Rouge
3. Big Fish
4. Shrek

Four movies I couldn't finish watching:
1. Munich
2. Talladega Nights
3. The Matrix: Reloaded
4. The Cat in the Hat

Four underrated tv shows
1. SeaQuest
2. Earth 2
3. Everwood
4.

Four places I’ve lived.
1. Ossian, IN
2. Monroe, IN
3. Notre Dame, IN
4. Decatur, IN

Four television shows I watch:
1. House
2. Monk
3. My Name is Earl
4. Scrubs

Four television shows I've never watched:
1. American Idol
2. Survivor
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Sex and the City

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Houston, TX
2. San Diego, CA
3. Wake Forest, NC
4. Colorado Springs, CO

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Crosswords
2. ILP message board
3. The Lactivist Blog
4. Myspace and Facebook

Favorite foods
1. chocolate-chip cookies
2. fajitas with lots of guacamole
3. artichoke-spinach dip
4. smoked salmon

Favorite beverages
1. Ice water with lemon
2. Munchie beer
3. Mountain Dew
4. Raspberry mocha cappuccino

places I would rather be right now
1. outside in a hammock
2. taking a glorious afternoon nap
3. in a bigger house
4. on a comfy couch in a bookstore

Foods I hate
1. Guinness beer
2. lima beans (does anybody like them?)
3. mayonnaise
4. Kraft mac & cheese

Spring Break, and it feels like spring!

2007-03-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Now, most spring breaks here in Indiana are not very spring-y. Cold, rainy, snowy, and just plain ol' miserable are more apt adjectives to describe the annual week where the kids run wild.

It's 75 degrees! And the sun is shining!

So I took the kids out to run some errands this morning, which was fun. Lauren loves the feeling of the wind on her face. It makes her gasp, and then she giggles and stretches her arms out wide, like she's catching the breeze. No matter which way I hold her, she turns her head so she's facing into the wind. (aside: Great-Grandma Sheehan would shake her finger at me and say, "Keep that baby's head covered up! You don't want her getting dysentery, do you?" I've never even heard of dysentery outside the context of The Oregon Trail.)

Anyway, we went to get Matthew's guitar, which still isn't in. Then we went to Dollar General, the credit union (keep your fingers crossed that they approve the refi on my truck), Wal-Mart (we were there two days ago, but Lauren decided she'd had enough halfway through the grocery aisles, so today we finished shopping. But I forgot milk.), and the eye doctor (but they were out to lunch).

I'd promised (read: bribed) Matthew that if he was good during the errands, that we'd go to McDonald's for lunch. But he decided it would be more fun to get our food at the drive-through and go to a park. The park by our house is right by the river, and with all the rain we've had lately, it's a soggy mess down there. So we went to the park by the city pool. Matthew found his friend Nicky to play with (Nick and his brothers spent every day at the pool with us last summer), and Lauren and I learned that she LOVES to swing. Those great big baby belly laughs are so much fun!

Then Lauren decided she was hungry and tired, so we headed for home. Now Matthew's playing Guitar Hero, and Lauren is asleep. I'm wishing that I had a comfy chair or a hammock outside, so I could be out enjoying the sunshine. But I have all the windows open and there's a nice breeze blowing through, so that's almost as nice.

How time flies...

2007-03-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

So it's been a year and a half since I last updated this blog. I had actually forgotten it existed, but lately I've been reading some blogs fairly regularly - the lactivist and chewymom are two that I've been interested in - and I thought to myself, "Hey, self, you like to write. You should create a blog." So I tried to create a new blog, and it tells me that I already have one!

Massive brain fart aside, I thought it might be a good outlet for me. We'll see, I guess.

poetry, and stuff

2005-11-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

so I've been writing poetry for my creative writing class. It's interesting. As long as I don't have to make stuff follow any particular form, I'm fine.

I don't know if it's any good, though.....

School sucks lately. I have TONS to do, presentation Tuesday, big psych project coming up. (freudian slip, I dunno, but I just typed psycho instead of psych).

My to-do list:
- finish editing soccer pics from last 2 games and upload to photoreflect.
- Call mother-in-law about babysitting tomorrow night
- lay out clothes for everybody for tomorrow
- have kiddo do his homework (can you believe kindergarteners have homework?!?!)
- start working on 20 minute literature presentation over Robert Browning's "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister" - presentation is Tuesday afternoon.
- Friday: teach tech ed at AC all day.
- Swim practice, get everyone ready for first meet on Monday. learn how to use computer system and teach a parent to run it. Lineup and event cards need filled out. Make sure kids can actually swim their events. Upload registration info to USA Swimming.
- Pick up M from Grandma's, take him to MIL's house. Meet mom, go to Fort Wayne for poetry reading at the co-op for my creative writing class.
Saturday:
- clean the house
- clear out the rec room, get set up for photo shoot Sunday afternoon.
- work at Wal-Mart 4-10,
- party for JL and Virginia

I'm tired just typing all that.

Ninja

2005-11-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

I want to be a ninja

With orange hair.

We bought hair color in an aerosol can.

I cover my eyes;

Mom shakes the can and sprays.

It’s cold, and smells funny.

I run to the closet-door mirror

To see who I’ve become,

Strike my best ninja pose,

And threaten my reflection.

parade

2005-11-03T15:32:00.001-08:00

Parade

Bratwurst with mustard wrapped in foil

Licking caramel-apple stickiness from fingers

Old men in uniforms marching proudly

Wailing sirens, flashing lights

Gloves and hats and winter coats

Marching bands dressed like zombies,

Monsters, fairies, and cats

Horses and riders dressed alike

Children racing to gather candy

Cacophony of sounds, smells, and sights.

limericks

2005-11-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Limericks

Last week I bought a new car.

I haven’t yet driven it far.

But soon comes the snow,

And then I will know

If my vehicle’s now up to par.

Today I raked leaves with my son.

We jumped and had lots of fun.

But the wind is now blowing,

The leaf pile is going,

Our fun jumping time is now done.

October

2005-11-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

October

The trees are dressed in their most flamboyant

Like my grandmother dancing

In a bright pink dress,

Whirling across the floor, laughing.

Yellow-gold, apple red, pumpkin orange.

For a few short weeks,

Their colors are brilliantly joyful.

The leaves fall into brightly-colored heaps,

Dancing in the wind,

Smelling of autumn, cold air, frost.

Submerge

2005-11-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Submerge

Clear cool blue water

Ripples when I dip my toe in.

Take a deep breath,

Wiggle my toes. Here goes!

Underwater, the world fades

Into squiggles and squares

Reflected on the surface.

Lungs ache: time for air.

Chlorine-smell biting my nose

As I inhale.

My most recent literary masterpiece

2005-10-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

“So there I was – drunk.”

Jer’s stories always began that way. When he was home on leave, his family called them his “drunk Marine” stories, but they’d laugh at every one. His buddies joked that all his stories started like that because he was always drunk. Jeremy wasn’t always drunk, he was a Marine. He had perfect posture, he looked good in uniform (and knew it), and he always held open doors for the ladies. But even though he took his position seriously, he lived for the weekends.

Tonight, Jer was hanging out at Denny’s – since his girlfriend had been deployed three months ago, he’d spent most of his evenings hanging out at a small table in the back of the dingy 24-hour restaurant. He was eating his usual meal: greasy hashbrowns, eggs with hot sauce, and black coffee. The regular evening waitress, Shelly, sat across from him. She propped her feet up on an extra chair and leaned back, watching him through the hazy blue smoke from her cigarette.

“Okay. So there I was, drunk. Me and the guys were hanging out, shooting the shit, when we got hungry. We were all too wasted to drive, so we figured we’d just walk here.”

“Uh-huh,” said Shelly, as Jeremy shoveled another huge bite of eggs into his mouth. “What exactly did you do?”

“Well, apparently we get a little crazy when we’re drunk. We sort of knocked over some mailboxes and shit. But that wasn’t the funny part.”

“So what was the funny part?” Shelly reached across the table, pulled another cigarette from Jeremy’s pack, and lit it.

“We got lost.”

“You got lost? In ten blocks?”

“Yeah. It took us like four hours. It was light out by the time we got here, and we were mostly sober by then.”

“Oh, Jesus. You need to cut back on the alcohol, hon,” said Shelly as she stood up and stretched. “I’ve gotta get back to work.”

“Have a good night. Are you coming over later?”

“Maybe,” she called over her shoulder.

Jeremy finished his coffee, paid the pudgy middle-aged cashier who said “Bye, sweetie!” as he walked out the door, and headed home. He’d have just enough time for a quick nap before the guys showed up.

“Hey! Open up in there!” Jeremy woke with a start. He wiped the drool from his cheek, and gave the apartment a quick once-over. No dirty underwear on the floor. He opened the door, and five guys with crew cuts filed in, laughing and joking. The tallest of them, Mark, was carrying a brown grocery sack. “I’ve got the refreshments,” he said as he pulled bottle after bottle out of the sack.

“Tonight it’s the four horsemen,” announced Zach. “Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, and Jose Cuervo. We brought a bottle of each.”

“Say what?” asked Jeremy. “Shel says I’m supposed to lay off the drinking. I’m afraid she might call Lisa.”

Mark’s voice was high-pitched and mocking: “I’m a big pussy and I’m afraid of my girlfriend.”

“Come on, man, Lisa’s a thousand miles away. What’s a little liquor gonna hurt anyway?” Zach’s voice was muffled, his head stuck deep in the refrigerator. “Dude, when are you gonna buy groceries?”

“There’s some pizza rolls in the freezer. Make those,” said Jeremy. “But seriously, guys, we shouldn’t be drinking so much. I’m about broke.”

“I think there’s sand in my vagina,” mocked Mark, ducking the pillow Jeremy sent flying his way.

“All right, man, give me the Jack,” said Jeremy. “Let’s get this party started.”

The goal was to finish all four bottles of liquor before the sun came up, but three of the guys bailed before the first liter was gone. Jeremy, Mark, and Zach decided to finish the rest on their own.

They sat around telling “drunk Marine” stories until six in the morning. The bottles were all empty, Zach was smoking at the kitchen table, and Mark was passed out on the couch. Jeremy tossed a blanket on top of Mark, and pulled his boots off. “I love you, man,” mumbled Mark as he pulled the blanket around his shoulders and rolled over.

Jeremy wavered unsteadily back into the kitchen and found Zach studying a packet of strawberry jelly. “Hey, Jer, where’d you get this?”

“The jelly? Denny’s.”

“Well, it’s looking at me funny.”

“Zach…it’s jelly. Smoke another cigarette or something. I’m going outside for a bit.” Jeremy stumbled out the front door and sat in the corner of the open stairwell. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed his sister’s number. It rang, and rang…after the fourth ring, the answering machine picked up.

“Hey sister!” Jeremy slurred into the phone. “It’s Friday night, you should still be up drinking! It’s only….four….in the morning. Well, I guess you’re not partying like a rock star like I am. I love you, sister.”

As he was sitting in the stairwell thinking of who else he could call, he heard a crash from inside the apartment. He jumped up and reached for the doorknob, but missed. “I must be drunker than I thought,” he thought.

Zach was standing in the farthest corner of the kitchen, eying the jelly packet warily.

“What’s wrong, man?”

“The jelly. It’s talking smack about my mom!”

“Dude, jelly can’t talk.”

“Jer, I mean it. It’s talkin’ shit!” Zach slowly advanced towards the jelly.

“Well, don’t let him get away with it,” Jeremy joked.

Zach picked up the jelly. “Don’t you talk about my mama,” he growled. “Oh yeah? Now you talkin’ ‘bout my sister, too?” He squeezed the packet; jelly spurted out and splattered him in the face. “Oh, now you’re gonna get it!” he yelled.

He hurled the packet across the room – it left a streak of sticky red where it hit the refrigerator door. Then he threw it on the floor and stomped on it with his heavy work boots. “Take that, sucker!” His glance fell on the broom leaning in the corner; he picked it up and attacked the jelly packet.

Jeremy was laughing hysterically by now. “Dude, you’re making a mess.” Zach picked up a second packet and threw it at his friend.

“Now it’s talking about your mom, Jer.” Jeremy, still laughing, grabbed the broom from his friend.

A few minutes later, they were leaning on the table to catch their breath from laughing so hard. They were both covered with sticky red jelly.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Zach gasped, and they both started laughing again.

Jeremy looked around at the kitchen, contemplated cleaning up the mess, and decided to do it later. He stripped down to his boxers and flipped on the tv.

Just as he was dozing off, Zach reappeared with a towel around his waist. “Your turn.” Jer groaned, rubbed his eyes, and walked slowly toward the bathroom. Zach flopped down into the recliner in his towel.

Moments later, Zach sat bolt upright in the chair. He jumped to his feet – there was a uniformed officer in the doorway with his hand on his pistol. “Oh shit,” he thought to himself. “Uh, what can I do for you, officer?”

The officer looked him over.

“Pants,” Zach thought out loud. “I need some pants.”

“That would be a good idea,” said the cop. Zach grabbed his pants, put one leg in, then the other, and yanked them up as fast as he can. “Now can I see some ID?” Zach turned pale, fumbled for his wallet, and tossed the whole thing to the cop. He flipped through it, doubtlessly discovering that Zach wouldn’t be of legal drinking age for another year.

“We had a report from the neighbors of someone yelling ‘Kill it, kill it!’ What’s going on?”

“Sir,” Zach said unsteadily, “the only thing we’ve been killing is bottles.” He gestured at the empty liquor containers on the table. “Oh, and the jelly was talking shit.”

The officer looked at the kitchen, eyed Zach one more time, and said “You need to keep the noise down, son.” He tossed Zach’s wallet on the table, said “Have a good night,” and left.

When Jeremy emerged from the shower, Zach was curled up in the chair, crying.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Jer, we gotta quit drinking so much.”

ramblings

2005-10-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

I just spent the last four hours trying to write a short story. It was hell. But it's done now.

But I can get on here and ramble on for pages and pages with no trouble whatsoever. What's up with that? I guess I just don't like fiction. I've always liked to write, and I'm really good at essays and such, but creative writing does not come easily to me at all.
...
We're broke, and we don't have much in the way of groceries. I felt like shit tonight, so Jim made supper. I was afraid we were gonna have peanut butter and jelly, or that he'd say to hell with it and order pizza, but he actually made a pretty good meal. We had red beans and rice from a mix, with diced ham added to it. Better than hamburger helper, anyway.

When I buy groceries, I tend to get lots of fresh veggies and fruits, but then we forget to eat them because we're so busy so they just sit in the fridge and rot. I hate that. I LIKE vegetables, I just don't ever remember to cook until it's late and we're starving and everything's still frozen.

....
I said the word "apeshit" in an IM conversation with my youngest brother. He'd apparently never heard that term before.

My other favorite swear word currently is "skullfuck." Now, you have to have the right context. Like, recently we replaced the screen door. It used to be torn in the corner so the animals could go in and out. Well, now the glass pane is at the bottom of the door. The first time the cat tried to jump out the door, she got skullfucked.

(I actually thought my husband and his friends coined this term, because I'd never heard it anywhere else. But I found out recently that it comes from the movie American History X.)

...
We watched City of Angels last night. It's soooo cheesy, but you gotta love it. I didn't cry until the very end, when all the angels are gathered together, and he goes running into the ocean.

...
there's now 34 kids on my swim team. Two of them I swear are ADHD - brother and sister. I could kill them! I could handle 'em fine last summer when the team was half the size it is now. I had 'em doing pushups for punishment. It didn't seem to help.

...
My brother Matt called from Iraq the other day. I was at work, so I didn't get to talk to him. Apparently, it's a good idea when sending pixie stix across the world to put them in a ziplock baggie, or else they break open and get pixie dust all over everything. But he liked the vampire teeth that Matthew picked out for him.

...
Halloween. I need to get pumpkins. Matthew has his costume - he's going to be a ninja with orange hair.

midterms

2005-10-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

ahh, the smell of fall in the air, and midterms on the horizon.

Lit midterm tomorrow. Studied some today, got bored, built some shelving units and reorganized the office. :)

Then psych midterm tomorrow night or early Friday morning, whenever I have time - it's an online exam. The rest of this week is crazy: work tonight, class tomorrow, work tomorrow night, teach at AC on Friday, work Friday night. Saturday off - woohoo! Work Sunday evening..

fund raisers

2005-10-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

My swim club wants to do a fundraiser so we can buy t-shirts and fun stuff like that. But I HATE selling stuff! Any ideas???

storms

2005-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

I love storms. Summer storms are the best, when you can sit on the porch wrapped in a blanket and just watch the rain pour down. It's been a DRY few months here, but tonight there's a big storm blowing in. It's supposed to get down to the high 40's tonight. It's windy now, and you can see the huge clouds rolling in. I have the windows open - I bet it'll be cold in the morning!

I LOVE my new comforter set. It's microfiber suede, and it's so soft - feels like those expensive hotel blankets. And soft white sheets....aah...

So I'm in bed now....at 9pm...with the laptop. Jim is watching "Lost" with the guys in Man Land. I had a beer (Oktoberfest, yummy), and came in to bed. I still have that lit paper to do in the morning. Alarm's set for 4am. I do my best work early in the morning - if I can drag myself out of bed, that is.

Does anyone actually read these?

2005-09-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

I mean, really? Who has time to read the ramblings of total strangers?

random photo of the day

2005-09-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

The orangs at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo - www.kidszoo.org.

washed, washing, to be washed...

2005-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

My car needs washed

My car needs washing

My car needs to be washed

Which is it? Does it matter? I took a linguistics class last semester where we talked a lot about that kind of stuff, so now I always notice....

Are your potholders clean?

2005-09-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

So, I was procrastinating, as usual. I had all day yesterday to write a stupid paper, and I never did get started on it till this morning. It was due an hour ago, and it's not done yet. (Half a letter grade deduction, no big deal....)

But I had the WHOLE day to write it. So first, I sat at the computer and checked all my email accounts. Replied to messages, sorted and cleaned out my inboxes, and updated my address books. Then I think to myself, I can't write in a messy room. So I start cleaning. I cleaned the entire house. I cleaned out the fridge. I stripped the beds and washed sheets and blankets. I went to the store to buy candles - atmosphere is everything, right? Then I cooked supper, watched a little tv, surfed some photography message board, called my mom....

Now I'm off to see if my potholders need washed.

My blog title

2005-09-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Shakespearean insulter: http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/index.html

Check it out, it's fun.