For the Birds

Running makes me feel so great...once I'm done.
I'm pumped to do it but getting ready stinks. And actually doing it does, too. Thank goodness for an amazing husband who is patient, kind, and thick-skinned. He motivates me, supports me, and ignores the tirade of expletives that shoot out of my delicate mouth during the act.

Still zero pounds lost.

Spring...maybe?

It's May 5th in NEPA and I still haven't put away the winter coats and boots. Ridiculous, right? I keep forgetting that the weather is supposed to be nice, that we're almost to summer.

We signed D up for tball. I wanted to, and talked to every mother I knew about it, but kept putting it off. We are using hubs' aunt's address to be in the league (the only one I could find a number for) and since we were late registerers (?) are part of what I can only call the "bad news bears" team.

The upside is that D has met some other kids he likes, and I've met a few mom's. The downside is that these kids will all be going to Kindergarten at a school that is not where D will be going. Ooops.

Big upside? We've made new "family" friends. The family consists of husband, wife, 9 yr old son, 5yr old daughter, and 3 year old son. The husband and mine get along. The mom and I get along. Their youngest and my youngest get along. D gets along with both middles. And the girl seems to like me pretty well, too.

They're from out-of-state and renting a house in a gated neighborhood, so I'm sure they're in quite the culture shock with the league we're in!

That and the coaches. OY VEY, the coaches. I will say that I appreciate that these two women have taken the time out of their lives to volunteer. Which is probably the only thing keeping me from LOSING MY SHIT every time we see them.

Their boostmobile phones don't always have minutes. They bicker and fight (they're girlfriends) in front of the kids. Apparently the other day they were talking about crawling out of the bar and then being late to pick up their foodstamps. When it rains they complain about walking home in the rain. All in all, I know way to much about these damn women. WAY TOO MUCH. I just want them to show up, have practice, be nice to the kids, and we'll all be on our way.

Instead... chatter, chatter, yell, yell, (at each other. wait til it's the kids)... they're the coaches so there I go.

(on days hubs is able to make it, he does start practice and create some format for the day. we just turned in his volunteer application and he got a jersey. assistant assistant coach tom?)

In other news I'm trying to be a runner. I've run 9 times in 3 weeks. I've got a 36minute 2-mile thing going on this treadmill we bought of my sister-in-law. I ran it IRL the other day on a trail and hit 2miles in 26minutes.

I haven't lost a single pound.

I don't think this "5k" idea of ours is going to work out anytime soon.

Phillies baseball is in full swing.

That's always awesome.

So there's my spring. Off to the zoo tomorrow with four kids and my new friend.

The Military Always Wins

I should be, and am, grateful that my husband has a job. That I have a job. But his job has two parts: the regular job is an instructor for the military, and the national guard part, which is one weekend a month, two weeks a year. Except that as an instructor his schedule varies depending on the course. And the one weekend a month may piggyback another weekend because technically they're different months. And the two weeks is actually three weeks in this particular unit.

I work full time. In retail.

How on earth do we have 2 kids and a marriage?

I actually joke that the reason we've made it 10 years is that we never see each other: thanks, Army!

Anyhow, he was able to come home for two nights last week, and will be home in maybe another week for a night.

Until then I'm a single mother, leaning on her in-laws for childcare support in addition to the full-time daycare/prek that I pay for.

And now I'm off to play with my boys before running off to work.

Domestic Bliss

Hahaha, not really!

But I did get caught up on laundry and the bedrooms cleaned.

This heat is killing me. I know, I know, original start. But we kept putting off buying more a/c units because it just wasn't hot this summer. Until now. And no one has any. Well they have them. But they're 10,000 BTU units that won't fit in any of my windows and are over $500. No thanks.

So til then we all just hang out in the living room.

Yeah, fun post, right?

What else is "bliss" right now???

I'm attempting to create a "schedule" for the chaos that is my life by making sure to designate empty boxes of time for it. I know a 14-month old is not going to want to do what I would prefer, so I give us blocks of time with nothing to do.

And honestly? It's been amazing for me mentally. (because if home isn't chaotic enough, there's always work....but don't get me started).

All in all it's been a very successful summer so far. I can't believe there's only a few more short weeks until Dyl starts preschool. I'm trying to mentally prepare for him starting kindergarten next year, and I'm ashamed to think about the number of times I've had to stop myself from crying when I think about it.

My mother-in-law told me I can't have it all, that I'd have to decide sooner or later. That she doesn't understand us modern moms.

But that goes against everything we were taught, doesn't it? That as women we CAN work, and we CAN raise amazing kids, and we CAN have amazing relationships with our husbands. That we CAN have amazing girlfriends and girls night out. That we CAN HAVE IT ALL.

And I do.

And I'm good at all of it.

But the sheer exhaustion is probably going to kill me before 40.

Because you can't just have it. You have to rock it.

And I do.

what the....

WOW. It's been almost 7 months since I've checked this out. Good thing I haven't put it "out there" that I attempted this. Also, I feel like I can vent here. But not if people know it exists. Except for my one follower. I love you, Cole! and love your blog.

:)

Off to bed. I went from insomniac to narcoleptic in the last 2 months...

Filled with Dread

It's official. I go back to work on Monday, October 26th. I am DREADING this. For four months I've been home with my two boys, and yes, I've wanted to throw things and scream and cry. (well, maybe I've actually done all those things...post partum?) But the idea that someone else is going to be seeing their smiles, and fixing their cries, and laughing at their laughs is killing me.

Of course Tommy is in bed with a cold. I've been feeling sick since the start of October, and turns out I have a nasty sinus infection, but cold trumps sinus infection, and I have the kids. And errands to run. But it's snowing right now. So I can't do anything. I mean, I could do things like clean the bathrooms, do laundry, and straighten up. But I don't like to do any of those things while the kids are up.

Anyhow...woe is me I guess.

Vampires

My friend Cole (I Heart My Chaotic Life http://iheartmychaoticlife.blogspot.com/) mentioned Twilight lately and I need to vent.

Ever since this whole "Twilight" craze started, I've been annoyed. I'm someone who's always been a fan of Vampires...probably because I loved Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire" series. But this craze has just unnerved me. Everyone I talk to has apparently been "vampire" crazed since birth. And now there's True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries...etc etc etc. And for some reason I'm annoyed.

Maybe it's because all the "goth" kids are doing it. Maybe because it's yet another "thing" people are using to be "different". EXCEPT THAT EVERYONE IS DOING IT. Maybe because for so many years I've been part of and a fan of a scene that I've never "looked the part" of. Sorry I'm not pierced head to toe, that I'm not a fan of looking like I rolled out of a trashcan this morning...

Actually I'm not sorry. I'm glad I'm happy to be me. I'm sad not everyone else has gotten to that place yet.

B