The random thoughts that flutter through my mind...
In the year 2006 I resolve to: Start spamming people I do not like. Get your resolution here. |
howard on doing my part for th...
rustymadgal on doing my part for th...
My birthday: April 17
My anniversary: April 25
YIM: downbutterflylane
If I had a billion dollars, I'd give a million to each of my friends and family. I'd have an indoor gym and pool built at my college. I'd pay for teachers aides at my daughter's school. I'd buy every book Nora Roberts ever wrote, and I'd fly to her next book signing so I could tell her thank you for saving my sanity by giving me an escape from reality for a few hours at a time.
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1,000 Shades of Fool
American Girl
Buddhists Do Scratch Their Heads Too
DJGroovySlug
FlyLady.net
He Wrote, She Wrote
I choose not to believe
I Was Just Thinking...
Jill Shalvis
Long and Writing Road
Miss Snark
Passionate Chaos
Pub Rants
Questions Asked, Questions Answered
Running With Quills
Still I Rise
Sublime Vacuity
The Steal-Me Book
Turn the Page
Woodland Rambles
today
April 2008
May 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
Taken from the ALA website
Books I have read are italicized.
Finished the heel. Still didn't do all my homework, but I just don't care anymore. Sigh. Not sure how long it will take for these meds to kick in, but I wish it would hurry up and do something. I'm going to knit for a few minutes and then go to sleep. I would do almost anything right now for a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Of course, then I wouldn't sleep at all. Argh.
Came to work today- on my day off- to try to get through my backlog of reserves that need scanned. Walked in, said hi to the boss (who was sitting at the front desk) and got suckered into babysitting the desk because someone called in. So... I'm being paid to sit here and knit. Well, between dealing with the computer issues... the IT people upgraded something over spring break (damn their eyes) and now all the computers are going wonky.
The computer help person is driving me nuts today. Actually, he isn't, he's just vaguely annoying me. It frustrates me when he tries to jump up and do my job. Especially since he isn't the brightest cookie and manages to screw stuff up. Don't get me wrong, he's really nice, he just doesn't know what he's doing but he thinks he does. The most annoying part is that I can do his job. He isn't an IT person, just a basic 'this is how you open word' type person. I've been here for three years, he's been here for a semester and a half. It annoys me when he pretty well pushes me out of the way to do something I'm already taking care of. Not physically, mind you, but he crowds my space until I scoot over far enough that he can take over. Argh.
Okay, time to get back to my sock. I started the heel today! yay rah.
Had a bout of insomnia last night, so I stayed up until 7:30 doing laundry. So I slept for about three hours, woke up feeling pretty rested for such a brief nap, and spent the morning watching Weatherman with Oshu. Then the kids and I went to Lishy's, (after hitting the mall to buy Ethel a dress for her Brownie tea party and Burger King, where Lishy bought our dinner) where I taught her to knit, we played Dance something or other for two hours, watched an episode of Charmed, and hung out. It's really nice to spend time with a friend who knows what you're thinking just by the look on your face- we both got the giggles a few times.
She said she was going to hate me tomorrow for getting her into this whole knitting thing. I pointed out that she asked to learn, so it wasn't my fault. I think she's going to have a stif neck tomorrow from stooping over the needles for so long, though.
I finished the ribbing on the first purple sock- I've decided to make them ankle socks (at least in theory) because I'm lazy and I want to have a finished product NOW, darn it! Besides, I like ankle socks.
A top view of the sock in progress (sorta looks like a creepy gang symbol or something, doesn't it).
And a side view- see the ribbing? You can actually see it! Too cool!
I took my bag 'o yarn to K's with me. I finished the red dishcloth I was crocheting and did another one while sitting and talking to K and Mom. Had to unravel the purple sock- I did four rows and it turns out that 60 stitches was way too many. I re-cast it with 45 and I think it's going to work much better. Also started crocheting a yellow stuffed animal net for Monkey's room- K mentioned today that she needed one... and I had a ball of yellow yarn left from his afghan... so I figured I'd make one up really quick. It's about half finished now. I'll post pictures of all of it later if I remember.
Then I came home and fixed dinner- Ethel and I had fettuccini alfredo with broccoli, George had chicken nuggets. Mom showed up to see the kids and fell asleep in my chair- the kids kept telling her stuff and she kept falling asleep in the middle of it all.
Oh, and before I forget, Ethel did the sweetest thing- in her class they have a list of AR books, and they get play money for passing quizzes about the books on the list. The day of George's birthday, she took all the money she'd earned all semester and used it to 'buy' some toys for him for his birthday. I'd bought a gameboy game for her to give him- but she wanted to get something for him herself. She is such a sweet kid some days.
I have a headache. A nasty one. Not sure why- but it won't go away.
Middle sister (henceforth to be known as K) has been sick. Wednesday my mom called at 7:30 and left me a message asking if I'd go sit with Monkey since she's sick and can't take care of him. The ringer has been off on the phone for the last two days, so I didn't get the message until that night. Mom spent Wednesday at sis's house babysitting. Today sis called at 6:30 am and left another message asking me to come over today. Didn't get that one until this evening. Her boyfriend's mom took care of him today. She left another message this afternoon. Stupid me, I called her back. "Can you come over tomorrow and watch my kid all day and expose yourself to the flu?" Okay, so she didn't actually say that, but that's what it would be. And, to top it off, Monkey has an upper respiratory infection. Oh, goodie. If I manage to avoid getting the flu, I'll get a cold. I don't even like babies anymore. Just thinking about going over there (and having to get up early on my last day of spring break so I can take the kids to daycare and the FFY so they won't be exposed to various bugs floating around her house makes me cringe.
I know it probably makes me a rotten sister, but damn it, I don't want to go over there and waste my day (in which I had planned to do laundry and clean my house, and maybe even read a book) with her kid. I don't really like spending time with babies anymore- I enjoy my kids being old enough to fend for themselves. I don't want to change diapers, I don't want to hold bottles, I don't want to try to figure out why the baby is crying. Why is it that I'm the person who gets called to fix everybody else's life? And why is it when I need support there's nobody available? When I was two hours away visiting Oshu's grandma, my sisters couldn't even pick up my kids on time.
Have I made myself into the 'fix-it' person of the family, and how do I stop being that person? Even when I tell my mother that I don't want to be in charge of K's baby shower, she somehow manages to talk me into designing and printing the invitations and reserving the room. Okay, I'd been asking for a date for three months- and it still somehow was MY fault that it didn't get planned sooner. I flat-out told my mother than just talking about this shower was making me sick at my stomach and shaky and I felt like crying. I tell her all of this, and agree to do the invitations and reserve the room, and the next conversation she has with me about the shower, she's all, "Well I've never put on a shower, I don't know what to do, you're going to have to help me." And then, just to add an element of fun, we have to make sure that we don't do any more or any less than we did for little sister (J)'s shower. So... since Mom has no idea what to do... I'm going to have to make sure that there are games to play, and tell her what to buy as far as plates, cups, decorations, prizes, order a cake- which reminds me, I need to decide on a theme... because Mom's idea was just to use the same theme again. Uh, no, since the same people will be invited, I'm not doing the same thing again. Maybe I should just make a list of everything she needs to buy and tell her to do it. No, that won't work, because she won't get the right stuff... and since I'm going to be blamed for whatever goes wrong anyway, I might as well do it myself.
So, I'm thinking a baby jungle animals theme. Red, yellow,blue and green. Since she calls him Ee-ee (short for Monkey), I think it would be appropriate. Other thoughts: leave my kids with their dad, decorate and set up everything the night before, and remember the ice cream scoop. (Forgot it last time, and it made scooping the sherbet for the punch rather difficult.) Tell K to show up an hour before it starts, so she'll actually be there on time. Sigh. How do I get myself into these things?
Oh, and my appointment was... interesting. We talked for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, and she prescribed Effexor. I'm supposed to try it for a month and then go back for an evaluation. I took my first dose this evening. I'm going to blog my emotions so I'll have a better picture of how well it is (or isn't) working.
One completed mini-sock. It has a heel and everything. (Okay, the instep got a bit screwy, but I think it's because I put it down without noting exactly where I was, and I picked back up on the wrong row.) Still... it has a heel! (I'm easily amused.)
Now, I'm off to soak in the tub before my appointment this afternoon. Next project: casting on the purple socks. Might even take it along with me to the appointment.
Since I successfully completed the red dishcloth, I decided to be brave and bold... I bought a set of size 2 double-point knitting needles, found a nice simple Mini sock pattern, googled knitting in the round for pictures to help get me started, and away I went. I have four rows now- I think. The pattern just says "about an inch" so I'm not counting them. This one is just a practice run, so I don't need to make sure that a second sock will match. This isn't really as hard as I thought it would be- all those needles in the way are taking a little getting used to, though. Will post a picture later- Oshu and George are asleep in the bedroom right now, so I can't get to the camera. Anyway, back to the sock. (If it's not too horrible I might use it as a decoration for middle sister's baby shower.)
The crazy afghan for Oshu: its not a great picture, because I keep forgetting to get him to fix the other camera for me, but it's an awesome orange, lime green and black crazy pattern. Every section is different- and I'm running out of ideas for what to do next!
Then, for Project Spectrum: a hot pink purse I started before Christmas- the body is done, I think I'm going to use my new knitting ability to knit a strap, and then I'll sew a liner with a zipper. Maybe if I get it done before the end of May I'll give it to Ethel for her birthday. Pink is her favorite color and she's been talking about wanting a purse... so it seems like a good idea.
And finally- the completed Project Spectrum project- my first knitting project. A varegated red and white yarn from Peaches n Cream- and the pattern is straight off the back of the yarn wrapper. But I did it, dang it. Now... to buy some curved needles so I can make socks. Already have purple yarn and everything (I figure it will be harder to see my mistakes if it's all the same color).
Well, the funeral is over, the graveside service is over, and now I'm playing catch-up on all of hte things that didn't get done while I was otherwise occupied. You know, laundry, dishes, procrastinating and watching tv instead... all that stuff. I gave myself a french manicure Thursday but this afternoon the kids and I played out in the dirt (okay, I played in the dirt while they ran around), so there are four pots of flowers planted and sitting in my kitchen waiting for spring to actually arrive (as opposed to the calendar, which says spring is today (and we have six inches of snow predicted for Tuesday!) but anyway... yeah, I ruined my nails, so I watched Hide and Seek, which was a big mistake since Oshu is gone and I'm a big weenie when it comes to scary thriller movies, and painted my nails. Now I'm just waiting for Big Love to come on. I love that show- it's funny. Well, at least, the first episode was funny, anyway.
This week is spring break for the kids, but I still have to pay for George to go to daycare, so he's going, and Ethel wants to go to the FFY and go on all the field trips they have planned- so I'm working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday morning the kids have appointments with their eye doctor, and Thursday afternoon I have my appointment.
My mom called today and started in about me needing to book the clubhouse for middle sister's baby shower. Hello? I've been asking for a specific date for forever now- so I'm really tired of them bugging me about it all. Little sister gave me a floppy disk with the invitation design- which she did in Powerpoint (don't ask me why) but it didn't work. I told her it didn't work and she never got me another copy, so I made one up tonight- I'll take it to work tomorrow and print them out. Right after I call to reserve the clubhouse for that day. Just talking to her made me sick at my stomach and I felt like I was going to cry. It took me half an hour to calm down afterwards. Oshu says I shouldn't answer the phone when they call. :) Like that would actually work.
Oh, and Ethel kept saying Poop. Not while referring to her need to use the toilet, mind you, just to be saying it. I got sick of telling her to stop, so I made her pick up a whole bucket (small bucket) of rocks out of the yard. A previous occupant of our townhouse had a rock walkway that has overgrown to the extent that there is as much grass as rock showing. I have decided that I want to pull the rocks up, re-lay the plastic stuff, and then replace the rocks. We will see if I actually get around to it. Anyway, she was griping about it, so I told her to think next time before she says poop.
Well, Big Love is coming on, so that's the end of this post.
One of my teachers sent my an email asking why I missed class. I started to send a short reply- but this is what I ended up typing. Can't very well send it to her, but I didn't want to delete it entirely, so I thought I"d post it here.
I'm sorry I"ve missed classes- my grandpa passed away Sunday night and I've been trying to deal with that all week. The logistics of getting everyone to the funeral got laid in my lap and I've been a basket case all week. This whole semester has been pretty bad- we found out that Grandpa had cancer in the middle of January, right after the semester began, then my little sister gave birth almost six weeks early, then my husband's grandma had a really bad spell and we didn't think that she was going to make it, and... yeah. Sister and baby are fine, hubby's grandma is much better for now, but I'm not dealing too well. I've been pretty down all semester so far, and some days I just can't seem to drag myself to school. I finally made an appointment to talk to someone about how depressed I've been (ironically, I made the call about four hours before I found out that Grandpa had died) so hopefully I"ll be able to get things turned around. I know that we had a whole bunch of stuff due yesterday, I just couldn't face coming to class- I've been on the verge of tears all week. Unfortunately, I still haven't cried about Grandpa, just about evertything else. I had to take my littlest sister shopping for something to wear to a funeral. I had to rent a car, buy drinks, snacks, and ice for the cooler. I had to make sure that I got clear directions and printed off maps for everybody. And in the middle of all of this, I had to throw a birthday party for my son, because it isn't fair that his birthday be tainted with sadness over a man he hardly knew. I had to be charming and entertain my in-laws when I just wanted to curl up and cry. I had to smile, and laugh, and when I snuck off upstairs under the pretense of removing my contacts everyone joked about me running off. I had to smile instead of slapping my mother-in-law when- while we were eating pizza- she casually informed me that she'd seen Grandpa's obituary in the paper. What charming dinner conversation. Yeah, I really wanted to think about it while I was eating. Yup. Thanks a million. The funeral is tomorrow morning, and I have to go and be the strong one for my entire family- and I may have to spend four hours (each way) driving a car with my divorced parents in it. (Please, God, let one of them ride with my sister and her boyfriend.) I have to keep my sisters from breaking down completely, I have to keep the middle sister's boyfriend from saying stupid things (because that's what he does when he's uncomfortable), I have to answer all of the 'why didn't your brother come?' questions, I have to make sure my dad doesn't fall apart- and that he and mom don't fight- and while I'm doing all of this, I'm going to be missing my daughter's spelling bee. I really want to be there, cheering her on, watching her little forehead wrinkle as she thinks, clapping when she spells the words right. Instead, I have to go babysit my dysfunctional family, and I'm so mad about it that I could scream. I'm tired of always being the glue that holds this family together. I'm tired of needing to cry so badly that my whole head aches with it, but not being able to shed more than one or two tears.
I think I"ll just send her a short note- sorry, grandpa died, massively depressed, hate life. Back next week.
I have to get up in about six hours, so I guess I should try to get some sleep. It's okay, though, I bought a whole bunch of Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, so I'm good. I'll be caffeinated.
Not on me, but a wrinkle nonetheless.
The funeral isn't on Wednesday. This is, of course, a good thing. Now I can spend the day with George. The bad news is, it's on Friday instead of Thursday. Ethel is in her school spelling bee on Friday. I cannot be in both places at once. It is absolutely impossible to do both. As you can imagine, Ethel wants someone there to watch her. I need to be at the funeral for my dad. Eventually, after I called Oshu's boss (and cried, while I was at it) we got things straightened out. Oshu will be going to the spelling bee and videotaping it for me. I will watch it when I get home. He will be picking the kids up after school, as well, since we probably won't be back in time for me to get them.
I'm going to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for his boss as a thank-you.
Mom and I are renting a car to drive up- youngest sister is riding with us. I have a feeling I will be driving the whole time (or at least most of it) because Mom hasn't been feeling well. She needs to have her gallbladder out but she keeps putting it off, so she's absolutely miserable most of the time. Happily, the middle sister's boyfriend is going, so they are driving themselves. I say happily because they are taking the baby (who is not yet two months old) with them. I could not handle riding in the car with the baby for that long, I don't think.
I finally made an appointment to talk to someone about my depression. Kinda ironic, really- I called to make the appointment Monday morning, and Monday afternoon I found out about Grandpa.
My inlaws are coming up later tonight. Yay flipping rah. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but today I'm not in the mood to be sociable. But, it's the boy's birthday, so I will put on my happy face and pretend. We will eat pizza and cake (not at the same time, I hope) and then they will go home, and I will go soak in the tub, and then maybe knit while I watch Stargate.
Did I mention that I've started knitting? I'm making a dishcloth. Red and white varigated. It's kind of interesting. I figure it will work for the red aspect of Project Spectrum. I will make Oshu fix the camera commection to the pc so that I can take a picture once it's done.
My sister came to see me at work today to tell me that Grandpa passed away last night. His funeral will probably be on Wednesday- which is bad, since it's four hours away and Wednesday is George's birthday. If it is on Wednesday, I don't think I'll be able to go- I think being here for my son's birthday is more important. I hope quite desperately that it will be on Thursday so I can do both without feeling guilty. Is that wrong of me?
As promised- the completed pink baby afghan. It's done, woohoo! And taking the picture only took half a freaking hour. I couldn't get the video camera to download the pictures to the computer properly, and then I couldn't find the usb cable for the digital camera... so I hooked the webcam up to the laptop and took a picture that way. Now, back to the green, orange and black monstrosity. :)
George wants to go to the Foundation for Youth like Ethel does. I was under the (mistaken) impression that once he turned five, he could go there. I'd planned to send him this summer. Turned out that they had to be five and be enrolled in kindergarten. Oops. He was decidedly not amused. I have to say this for the kid, though- he took it with class. When the receptionist/secretary/chick who takes the money told us that he couldn't attend this summer, he just sighed, leaned against the counter, and sank slowly and dramatically to the floor.
Admittedly, I wasn't all that sad about him being too young- the thought of him being there with all of those bigger kids makes me nervous. The more I thought about it, I was happier with the idea of him going to daycare for the rest of the summer and then going to the FFY after school like Ethel does next year. It would be nice if they were both at the same place instead of having to go to two places to drop off every morning, since I tend to run late, but not worth the stress I'd be under every minute of the day worrying about him.
Now, though, everything has changed. Just found out today (while he was standing there, of course) that they've changed the policy- he can go this summer. As if that wasn't enough, Ethel even offered to stay with the 5.6.&7 group for the summer so she could keep an eye on him. She'll be turning 8 in May, so she would finally be moving up to the older kid's group and having more privileges. She's such a good kid- when she's not being totally rotten.
He's just so tiny to be there all day- I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I figured I was just being an overprotective mommy, but when I told Oshu about the new policy earlier, he reacted exactly the same way. So, as mad as it might make George, I think he's going to keep attending the daycare for the rest of the summer. Maybe if he goes to the FFY for a few hours every day after school, I won't have such a hard time with it next summer.
This is completely perfect. I've been working on a pink and white ripple pattern crocheted baby afghan for George's afternoon daycare teacher (who is due in a couple of weeks) for most of March. Now I find out that there's an awesome project where people around the world are creating things in specific colors for each month. Usefully enough (and the reason I decided to sign up)- March's colors are pink and red. Seemed like a sign to me. I found this on Uli's site, and she made it sound so interesting I had to check it out. Now- back to the afghan (which I will post a picture of later).
... with a vengeance. I have problems with depression. I know this. It's been going on for as long as I can remember. Usually, I manage to hide it pretty well when I have a bad day. Today was not usually. I came completely unhinged and cried myself silly for about half an hour, managed to freak the hell out of Oshu, and made my nose run so much that it hurts now.
When I'm having a really bad day (or week...), I can feel it building. Sometimes I can head it off at the pass by reading a sad book or watching a sad movie, which makes me cry, which sort of seems to purge my emotions. Unfortunately for all of us, that didn't work this time. When I'm in the grips of this, every little thing that has hurt me is magnified a million times. Old slights rear their ugly head once more. Piddly little things that shouldn't bother me- rationally I know they shouldn't bother me, but it doesn't matter. It's almost as if I'm a bystander in my own head. I can see what's happening, but I can't stop it. All I can do is try to avoid people as much as possible, and put on a happy face when I can't avoid them. I can't feel anything happy- nothing seems funny, nothing seems warm, I can't feel love- and that's a scary feeling, even knowing with that little rational part of myself that this is just a phase and it will go away, just like it has every time before. That's creepy, too. Being in the grips of this horrible emotional wasteland, but still having a little slice of me sitting there, watching it all go down, unable to do a damned thing to stop it. Every real or imagined hurt is there, every thought leads to something painful.
Sometimes taking a walk by myself in the fresh air helps. Sometimes it doesn't. It usually at least gives me the energy to pretend everything is fine for a little longer. I'm good at pretending. I've had lots of practice.
We are now the proud owners of an Xbox 360. To go along with the Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, original Playstation, Supernintendo and original Nintendo, -oh, yeah, and Ethel's Gameboy- soon to be joined by George's Gameboy (one of his birthday presents). I don't have a livingroom, I have a game/movie emporium. Oshu is playing some massively gross game that seems to consist of killing people in absurd and disgusting ways. He seems to be enjoying it mightily. It's called Condemned: Criminal Origins (I think). Both Xboxes are hooked into the home network, along with Lucinda (the laptop), Dr. Gonzo (the new desktop), and The Dude (kitchen computer the kids use). I think we have too much electronic stuff in this apartment. One of these days, we're going to wake up and they will have staged a revolt. The coffeemaker will have gone mad and spewed hot coffee everywhere, the microwave will be turning itself on and off at whim, and the tv will have ordered porn from the cable box (and be blaring it through the surround sound).
Last night was kindergarten sign-up for George. He had the choice of going to kindergarten at his daycare and staying with all of the teachers and kids he knew, or of going to Ethel's school for kindergarten. After much thought on his part, he has made a decision. He is going to Ethel's school, to all-day kindergarten, and then riding the bus to the Foundation for Youth after school just like she does. His only stipulation was that he wanted to sit in the same seat as Ethel on the bus. I figure we can arrange that. He's been talking since we moved up here about going to school when he was five- but now that it's almost here, he's showing some trepidation. Sunday night as we were talking about the sign-up, he curled up beside me and whispered, "I don't think I want to go to school after all."
Then, last night we got to the sign-up at 6:25. It was scheduled to start at 6:30. There were lawn chairs outside the office door- people had been sitting for at least 45 minutes, because I saw them when we drove past the school on the way home to drop Ethel off with Oshu. Insanity. They were so anxious to get their children into all-day kindergarten that they sat outside for an hour and waited. When we got there, there were probably fifty or sixty people there already. Amazingly enough (thank heaven) George got one of the last all-day slots. He was number 19, and I think there were only 22 openings. *Whew* After all the time he spent thinking about it, I'd have hated to tell him he had to go to half-day after all.
When Ethel went to kindergarten in our old school district, round-up was different. It was at the public library, and the kids had all of the screening tests (hearing, sight, speech, basic school readiness stuff) and the parents filled out all of the paperwork too. They do it differently here- all last night was was the paperwork. There is a parent orientation scheduled for April about things parents of kindergarteners need to know. (Probably stuff like, 'put your kid to bed at a decent hour, help them with their homework, this is where the office is... things that people who already have a child in school know.) Then, in August, a week before school actually starts, they get to meet their teacher, have all of the screening tests, all that jazz.
Oh, and thanks to rustymadgal for the chocolate suggestion- between the mug of hot chocolate and the silly cat video clip I played for her, Ethel was not an evil snot in a much nicer mood today. I personally am in a wonderful mood- I went to bed at 8:30 last night- left Oshu to put the kids to bed, read for maybe 30 minutes and then went to sleep. Slept until 7:20 this morning when the alarm went off. If I could sing, I'd be singing that song- the "I feel good" one. Never can remember quite how it goes. Besides, George and Oshu are still asleep, so I doubt they'd appreciate it. Plus, I'm in a good mood because Lucinda came back from the laptop repair place. She works perfectly. I'm so happy now.
Today's agenda: wiper blades for car, do laundry, wash dishes, mop kitchen floor (again... George dumped a glass of kool-aid all over it), maybe go to work for a few hours and get some extra hours in. Maybe go to Lishy's and play the dance game again- oh, yeah, almost forgot- we've been playing Dance Dance Revolution at the mall and realized we'd (she'd, since she always beats me there and buys the tokens) spent enough already to buy a game and game pad... and then our local Sam Goody was going out of business, so she got a game and game pad for like $30something. Then we went to Target, and I bought another pad- and I found a $10 bill on the floor, so it only cost me $20 in the end. Yay! So, yeah, I left it all at her house, since she has the game. I think that I might go to her house when she gets off work and we can play for a bit. It's so much fun.
Now- must switch laundry to dryer. Then I have stuffs to do!
Does anyone have any clues on how to turn a bratty whiny complaining seven year old who is distinctly NOT a morning person into something resembling a facsimile of a human being? So far, she's whined about getting up, griped that I gave her Cheerios instead of waiting for her to come out of the bathroom to tell me what she wanted to eat, screeched about the difficulty she had with her pants button, and shrieked "OOOWWW!" with every stroke of the brush. She. Was. Brushing. Her. Own. Hair. Now she's just sitting there bitching about how she wants honey for her Cheerios. Where she even got that idea I have no idea... we've never had honey.
She stayed up late (I sent her to bed, she just didn't go to sleep) and now she's absolutely grouchy. She's just sitting there, staring at her cereal and making cranky faces at me when my back is turned. We have to leave in about 8 minutes, she still has no socks and shoes on, and
okay, multiple personality disorder girl alert. She just ran over here, hugged me really hard and giggled, then went back to her chair and started eating her cereal. One of us is not going to make it through her teenage years. I can't face mornings like this without coffee. Who am I kidding? I can't face mornings like this with coffee!
Ethel is in the Spelling Bee at her school. They have class bees, and the top two in each class get to go to the school bee. She was in it last year, too. (Out in the first round after getting the word dread. She was a first-grader for criminy's sake.) Starting tonight we are going to be going over spelling words from the list, I think. Now, to drag the changeling off to school.
