Spring Break For Kids?

This week starts the beginning of Spring Break for my daughter’s school district. It also just happens to correspond with the end of the trimester, meaning early dismissals and parent/teacher conferences. Translation? Hell for parents! For working parents it means figuring out childcare for the three days of early dismissal and the six weekdays (yes, I said six!) they are off for spring break. For stay-at-home parents like myself, it means listening to my kids bicker and fight for those six should-be school days. And an interrupted naptime schedule for the early dismissal days. (For my three year old. Not for me. Although a nap is sounding pretty good right about now.) I think I’d like to put in for a well deserved respite from my kids vacation. Too bad the odds of that happening are about as good as lightning striking a lotto jackpot winner.

 

But seriously, who came up with the idea that elementary kids needed spring break? When I was a kid, we got an Easter Break and that consisted of Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. That’s it folks. The rest of the time our sorry little butts were in our desks. Even in high school we didn’t get a spring break. Sure I would have liked the days off to just lay around and be lazy (or grab more hours at work when I was old enough to have a job), but it didn’t really matter all that much to me. I mean, it’s not like I had big plans to head down to Daytona Beach or Cancun or whatever other hot spot for spring break. Come on. It’s high school. We’re teenagers. Not college students.

 

image credit

 

I guarantee when my kids are in high school, they are not going to be allowed on any spring break trips unless it’s a family one. (And it certainly won’t look like the picture!) There is no possible way I would ever allow that. I’ve heard too many tales, seen too many news stories, and watched too much MTV spring break specials to ever consider it.

 

And elementary? Really? What are they gonna do? Plan a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for five straight days?! Campout in the park? I haven’t heard of too many parents planning spring break vacations with their kids either. The whole thing is just craziness I think. Elementary kids, and even middle school and high school students do not need six days off for spring break. I hope the teachers do something really extravagant because from the way I see it, they’re the only ones who are coming out on top in this bargain.

 

Now just so you don’t think all I ever do is bitch (although I will admit I do it a lot. Ask my poor husband.), I’ll do something a la Paul and list three good things that happened yesterday.

 

1. I had an awesome sandwich for lunch yesterday and I’m having one again today. (Turkey on oat-nut bread with mayo, lettuce, and provolone cheese. So good!)
2. I got the majority of things done from my list. (Too bad some of the things like laundry and dishes keep multiplying and are never truly done.)
3. At my PTA meeting last night I got to jerk the chain of City PTA. (I take such joy from disagreeing with them, I think there must be something wrong with me.) A member had attended the last City PTA meeting where the officers for City were asking those who attended to go back to their individual units and get money to pay for the lunches at State Convention (which is being held in our town) of seven little old ladies that normally attend the Founder’s Day luncheon that was cancelled. I raised the question that since they have $200 in their budget to cover Founder’s Day and they’re not having it why do they need money from us? That made everyone pause and reconsider whether or not we really need to take money out of our budget to pay for something that isn’t our responsibility. The issue is tabled for now and it makes me happy. (I must have an evil streak in me.)

I Know I’ve Wasted Too Much Time When…

This is what I did this weekend.

 

image credit

 

When I should have been doing this.

 

image credit

 

So now I’m this.

 

image credit

 

Okay, well maybe not quite as extreme as the last picture (and definitely not with beautifully applied make-up and perfectly styled hair.) But, I did spent too much time with my nose in a book this weekend and the rest of my time playing games online. The proof is all around me.

 

I have:

• a pile of dishes needing to be washed.
• laundry in various stages of completion in my bedroom and in the laundry area.
• reports to get done for a meeting tonight.
• more work than I even want to think about sitting in the office at school.
• deposits that need to get to the bank.
• a stack of newspapers that need to be sorted through.
• a growling stomach that is demanding to be fed. (My son’s is probably ready too!)

 

Because of all that, I am going to spend my day getting caught up around the house, but will catch up with you guys (and your blogs!) tomorrow.

 

I should have some real posts coming later this week. I started a couple over the weekend, but they need some polishing. I’ll also have to fill you in on my role-playing thing and the books that I finished last week. Good stuff.

I’m Having A WTF Moment

First of all, I have to apologize for my small hiatus from the blogging world. I’ve been trying to get used to my new laptop (and get all my software installed) while simultaneously trying to convince my three year old that Mommy’s laptop is not for him to poke at and push buttons and play with. Not an easy task. I’m back to only using it when he’s in bed. Maybe eventually he’ll let me type in peace. I’m also doing something I’ve never done before and that is try to write this while I’m drinking. So who knows if it’ll make sense in the end. Or if I’ll be able to put it out there without mistakes. But, here’s hoping.

 

I’m not completely caught up reading everyone’s blogs, but I’m working at it. Which leads me to my first WTF moment.

 

image credit

 

What is the point of having “hidden blogs” if they still show up in your reading list? Or am I not doing something right? I can’t get to everyone’s blogs all the time, so I have a few that I put in a hidden list to get to when I have extra time.  I opened up my dashboard tonight planning on doing some reading (because if I’m being perfectly honest, I didn’t have the slightest clue what to write about.) And what’s the first post on my list? One from my hidden list! The whole point of putting them there was so I wouldn’t have to sort through the ones I want to read right away and the ones that can wait awhile. This is fucking up my system!

 

I’m also pissed off at Hubby. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I am a bit of a firecracker. Or, as we call it in our house, a pistolie. (It started off as a pistol and evolved from there. My husband has a funny habit of putting his own spin on words. Christ, even when I’m pissed at him, I can’t help but talk about what I like about him!) But anyway, calling myself a firecracker is putting it nicely. I can be downright bitchy. So maybe I’m overreacting. Or maybe I just expect too much.

 

Last night I had a decent sized paragraph written about what happened, but the light of day has brought some reason and sanity back to me. I’m still pissed, but I’m not really a believer in airing dirty laundry and all that. I’ll just say that marriage is not always sunshine and roses, but sometimes it’s better to forget it and move on. Sometimes, it’s not worth arguing over. I know I’m right about the issue, but there is no convincing him that he’s wrong. So, I’m dropping it (although it would feel really good to hear him say he’s sorry and that he knows he did the wrong thing.) We’re both too damn stubborn though and I hate fighting fights I know I can’t win.

This Girl Just Wants To Have Fun

I started working on a different post, but I just couldn’t get through it. I’m all sorts of agitated right now and that frame of mind doesn’t work well for a more serious post.

 

What’s bothering me, you may be wondering. Or maybe not. I don’t know how much you care, but I’ll tell you anyway! Assuming, of course, that you are still reading by the end.

 

Aside from the everyday nonsense of keeping everyone happy (and the kids away from the dog toys) and laundry and dishes, I have extra chores to do to get things ready for “feeding night.”  (Yes, I’m still working on my snake page, but having a hell of a time getting my pictures to go where I want them to. I got so frustrated yesterday, I deleted the whole thing and will start over. Hopefully today.) Anyway, because we feed snakes tonight, there is preparation that has to be done and since I am home during the day and my husband is not, I’m the lucky one who gets to do it.

 

Then, I’m going out tonight. YAY! One of my best friends from high school is having a “hostess” party (where you go and buy stuff) and I’m super excited to get out of the house without kids or husband. Can you say freedom? I’ve haven’t gone out drinking with friends since last March and even then I was home by ten. (That sounds even worse when it’s down in black and white. You’d think I was 70 with statements like that.) It’s going to be a blast and I won’t go into details now, but I will next week. The problem is what to wear. (Sorry guys. Feel free to tune out now.) I want something fun and sorta sexy without freezing my ass off, but do you think I can find anything in my closet that matches that description? Hell no. I tried on probably half a dozen tops (which I know isn’t very many, but my complete wardrobe is pretty small.) Either they weren’t sexy or they no longer fit right! (I blame my kids for ruining my body. Well, I guess that’s not fair. They didn’t ask to be born. I guess I’ll have to blame my cheap ass for not buying new clothes.) And curse my small feet because I don’t have cute black shoes, limiting my choices even more. So after throwing a mini temper tantrum, I settled on a v-neck hoodie with a knit tee underneath. Not real sexy, but functional. I guess that’s all I can ask for anymore.

 

 

So, I don’t know. Is it acceptable? At least I’m not going to be bar hopping or anything like that because this outfit probably wouldn’t work then, but for sitting at a friend’s house, sipping cocktails (of some sort) and perusing “items,” it’s the best I could come up with. (And thanks Kat, for showing me the flattering way to pose for pictures. I took some straight on and nearly threw up.)

 

I suppose I should also mention that tomorrow marks the beginning of the NASCAR season. Are you excited yet? Yeah, me neither. I’m definitely going to watch, but part of me wants to boycott just to stick it to Brian France. It’s such a joke anymore (unless you’re a Jimmie Johnson fan) that the fun and excitement is completely gone for me. They have made some changes to the cars this year so we’ll see how that plays out. But really, until the last ten races stop being at Jimmie Johnson’s favorite tracks, can we ever expect a different outcome?  Last year I didn’t wear my “lucky” Jeff Gordon shirt because I was afraid it had turned unlucky. Maybe I’ll have to throw it on again this year and see if it helps. (Yes, I know I don’t in any way, shape, or form, affect a sporting event by what I wear, but I’m superstitious like that.)

 

I know this is kinda short, but my nerves are fried (trying clothes on is so stressful for me) and my dog keeps barking (frying my nerves even more) so before I throw my keyboard at him, I’ll  stop my rambling and just wish everyone a safe and fun weekend.

I’d Like To See You Do My Job!

I’m going to make this one short and sweet because frankly, I’ve got a million things to get done before tonight and the time that I have to leave to pick up my daughter is coming at light-speed pace. Okay, well, maybe not sweet. I’m actually really pissed off.

This weekend, I was minding my own business on Facebook, taking care of my “homestead” on Frontierville. (I just love that game!) Up popped a chat window from someone I went to high school with. He asked if I was playing The Sims because he knows how addicted to that game I am. I replied “No, can’t do that and be online at the same time. I’m playing Frontierville.” To which he responded something along the lines of “I can’t believe you. I wish I had your life.” Maybe I should have given him the benefit of the doubt, but it instantly pissed me off. For one thing, he knows very little about my life and for another, his life is pretty damn simple. Sometimes I wish I had his life. He’s not married, has no kids, has a job that I think gives him the winter off, and goes out partying more times a month than I do in a year. Maybe two years!

So for all those people out there that think because I am a stay at home mother and don’t work outside of the house and have an easy life - get bent! I’m up early and to bed late every night of the week even weekends because kids (especially three year olds) don’t really know the difference between Saturday and Tuesday. I have to cook and clean and keep schedules for four people. I have to get kids where they need to be, shop for every household need, and be at everyone’s beck and call when they need help. I have to play kid games, give up my TV time for kid shows, rarely ever have adult conversations, and turn over the computer when someone else wants it. And I’m still expected to help out at school, stay in shape and always be happy on top of it all!

So yes, I’m going to play a computer game or other stress reducing activity when I happen to have a spare moment. I’d like to see you get through one of my days.

Okay, thanks. I think I feel a little bit better.