It's Too Late

At 9:45pm last night, Twelve asked me if I would take her to a new frozen yogurt place so that she could get some frozen yogurt. She even offered to use a gift card that she had received to 'pay' for her own yogurt.

Being the extraordinarily mean mother that I am, I said 'Not tonight, it's too late, but we can go tomorrow'. I had two reasons for saying 'No'. #1, I figured that DH would blow a gasket if I suddenly announced at 10 o'clock at night that Twelve and I were going for some frozen yogurt, seeing that DH was busy reading the new Harry Potter book with Ten at that time. and #2, I didn't want to deal with a lecture from DH as to why Twelve and I shouldn't be going.

I figured that his lecture would include the following points: (which are all valid points, BTW)
1). It's late at night and you will end up going to sleep with all of that in your stomach, which isn't good for you. (directed at Twelve)
2). You had absolutely no exercise today. (directed at Twelve and I)
3). Twelve eats so unhealthfully, why would you take her for frozen yogurt? (directed at me)

Instead, I dealt with Twelve trying to convince me to take her, and when I stood my ground, of course I moved closer and closer to receiving the 'Meanest Mommy Award', which I evidently covet, given that I am so mean.

So, Twelve decided to watch a movie instead. Later on that evening, I told DH that Twelve wanted me to take her for frozen yogurt at 10pm...and what did he say???????

DH: "Oh yeah, everyone is doing that."

I said "Excuse me, what do you mean?"

DH's reply "All of the kids in our area go there late at night with their parents, it's the place to be."

I said: "Oh, I told her it was too late, because I figured that you would be upset if we went."

DH: "Nah, it's the thing to do"

Shows you what I know. So tonight I'm taking Twelve to the frozen yogurt place...that is, if she still wants to go.

Too Many Eggs

I went to the supermarket the other day. I needed to pick up some eggs. They had a sale, buy 1 get one free. I bought 18 eggs and ended up with 36. I just didn’t feel right saying that I didn’t want the other 18 eggs. I mean the store was practically begging me to take them, right? The supermarket would have felt slighted if I had said “No thank you, I’ll just take the 18 eggs, you keep the other 18. What would that have done to their inventory? lol

So, I went to the store for a dozen eggs, and came home with 3 dozen eggs. Now I have to cook them so that they won’t go to waste. (Right, they’ll just go to my waist, instead!). (sigh). I’ve decided to make “Mock Chopped Liver”. (Kind of like egg salad, only with the addition of other ingredients: onions, nuts, peas or mushrooms). It’s the vegetarian, not vegan, alternative to ‘chopped liver’. My family loves it! I just wish there would have been a sale on ice cream instead.

Sluggers Return

He's baaaaack. Slugger's mother brought him to my house about 2:30pm yesterday, and he spent the night last night. His mother had to be at work at 6am today. She called and left a message that she may be able to pick him up about 9pm tonight, depending on when her flight comes in. If she gets in too late, Slugger will stay here tonight as well.

Ten and Slugger seem to be having a great time. I am glad that Slugger is here. I have just one question/observation. It seems to me that even though each of Sluggers parents has him with them for one week on and one week off, why wouldn't his mom let Slugger be with his dad when she has to work? and why wouldn't dad want/insist that Slugger be with him, if Slugger can't be with his mom? (that was one question disguised as two, in case you're wondering)

Could these two "adults" (and I'm using that term loosely) be so caught up in their anger that they have lost sight of what Slugger wants? Could the courts have mandated that each parent is allowed to have Slugger with them only a certain number of days, and if they exceed those days then they have to 'pay back' the other parent? (that would be sad!) My guess would be, that although Slugger enjoys being here and hanging out with Ten, if asked, he would probably say that he would prefer to be with his dad when his mom has to work. Now I don't know this for sure, and I may just be projecting my own thoughts, and I'm not going to ask him, because it isn't a choice that I can give to him. I'm just wondering.

The reality is, that if Slugger wasn't with me yesterday through today, he would have been left in the care of a neighbor. I'm glad that he wanted to come here. Now if last night, I could have convinced the boys that they needed to go to sleep before midnight, I would be a more rested camper today. (Did I mention that they woke up at 6am?) Oh to be young again...I think I need a nap.

p.s. In case you're wondering, Slugger's mom seemed as unmedicated, and as sober, as anyone could be. Maybe the last few times that I've seen her were an anomaly...one can only hope.

Why Oh Why?

Why is it that a twelve year old girls whine is so extraordinarily annoying? And why is it that said twelve year old girl is mad at me for telling her to get out of the pool last night, because her whining was disturbing the neighbors? And why is her ten year old brother gloating?

Answers: Because it is high pitched and dragged out. Because she knows that I am right. Because he didn't get in trouble.

A Day In The Life...

I received this as an email today. It describes my life so perfectly, that I decided to share it...

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. (Menopause of the brain exactly)
This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye…they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it,but first I'll go and check my blog....

It's Not Really a Movie about a Hair Product

Now for some levity. Today, while Ten was at camp, I took Twelve and my mother to see Hairspray.

My review: If you're looking for a happy-feel-good movie, and like musicals, then this is definitely a movie that you would want to see.

Twelve's review: "It was too happy...but I want to see it again."

My elderly mother's review: "My foot was tapping during the movie."

So there you have it. Three generations of female movie-goers all give Hairspray a thumbs up.

Slugger's Story

My heart has been heavy the past few days. All because of a situation involving one of Ten's friends. I've been contemplating the right thing to do, and have decided to present the situation to all of my blogland friends, with the hope of gaining additional perspective in order to make the right decision. (or at least to get the support that I know that I will get, that I am making the right decision)

Ten made a friend this past baseball season, we'll call him Slugger. Slugger is a nice polite boy, and he and Ten just happen to 'hit it off'. There was something about Slugger's mother, some inner warning bell, or intuition, that had me deciding that if the boys were ever able to have a playdate, that it would have to be at my house. Towards the end of the season, we were finally able to get the boys together for a play date (at our house). Slugger's parents have been involved in a contentious divorce for a few years, and it was difficult arranging a time when he was with his mother (his father lives farther away) and when Slugger and Ten were both available.

To condense this story, I suspect that Slugger's mother is an alcoholic. During phone call conversations with her, face-to-face conversations with her, I sense that she is drunk off her *ss much of the time. This past Tuesday, we arranged for Slugger to go to the same camp that Ten goes to. I offered to pick Slugger up, at 3 o'clock, from the camp when I picked up Ten. Slugger's mother told me that she would be there at 3 o'clock to get him. Well at 3pm when I picked up Ten, Slugger's mother was nowhere to be seen. I waited for 5 minutes and then had Slugger use my cell phone to call his mother. From the conversation that I heard, Slugger's mother had no idea where Slugger was, and no idea that she was supposed to be picking him up at that moment. The conversation that I heard went like this:
Slugger: Mom, are you going to pick me up?
Slugger: Where you dropped me off this morning.
Slugger: The place where you dropped me off this morning! (looking like he was going to cry)Slugger: I'm here waiting.
Slugger: Ten's mom said that she'll take me to Ten's house. Will you pick me up there?
Slugger: Bye.

When Slugger got off the phone he looked ready to cry and he looked really angry. He said his mother said that she was sleeping and he woke her up. I took him home and about 30 minutes later, his mother called my house explaining that she had been taking a nap, and that his phone call woke her up. While speaking to her, she sounded drunk. This wasn't the first conversation, either on the phone or in person, with her where I thought that she was inebriated. She said she would pick Slugger up, and I told her that he was more than welcome to spend the night. I told her that I would bring Slugger by so that he could pick up his stuff. When we got to his house, mother seemed intoxicated (slurring her words, unsteady on her feet, repeating herself, overly friendly). I didn't get close enough to her to smell her breath.

The next day, I had to arrange with the father for Slugger to be picked up for the 'weekly transfer'. Father was angry that Slugger wasn't being brought directly to his house. Evidently that's in the custody agreement. I told Slugger's father that I didn't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on between him and his soon-to-be ex. My only concern is the relationship between Slugger and Ten. If he needed me to bring Slugger to his house, then I would make the drive. For me it really wasn't a big deal.

Evidently Slugger told his father what went on, and now father wants me to speak with his attorney about the mother's behavior. Father told me that the mother is not allowed to drink, per judges order. I explained to the Father that I've never seen the mother drinking and that I would never let Slugger get in the car with his mother, if I thought that she had been drinking. I feel that I really have nothing to say to the attorney. I have only observed the mother in what I assume is an altered state. I suspect that she is drunk, but I have no proof that she is drunk. I value the friendship between Slugger and Ten, but I value Slugger's safety even more. I don't know this mother well enough to talk her about my suspicion of her drinking...yet, is it my responsibility to tell her her anyway? Help! I want to do what is best for Slugger.

Who'd Of Thunk?

I am honored to say that I have been awarded "The Thoughtful Blogger Award" (seemingly also known as the Creative Blogger Award) by not one, but two different people. Michele at The Rocky Mountain Retreat, and Patti at Late Bloomer Boomer both thought of me...how thoughtful is that! I figured that I would post both awards.

For those unfamiliar with the award, here is a little explaination of the award:
The Thoughtful Blogger Award...
For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping others bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

I'm supposed to think of five creative/thoughtful people to give this award to...there are so many to choose from, and some that I would choose have already received the award...so, here I go: Patches, Missus Chicca , Meno, Arm, Marsha, Ralph, Renee and to anyone else that I forgot to mention...consider yourself awarded...you can choose the Creative Blogger and/or the Thinking Blogger Awards...it's up to you, you are all worthy.

We're Back...

Hi Everyone...we're back and we had an absolutely fabulous time. Every year, we go camping with 3 other families (about 20-22 people). Each year we pick a different location, and this year we went to a part of California called 'Big Sur'. It is south of Monterey (think central California coast) and it is gorgeous.







Friday morning we met one of the other families about 8:30am and followed each other up the coast. We ate lunch in Monterey and then drove down highway 1 to Big Sur. We set up camp and then relaxed and waited for the other two families. Once they arrived, we made dinner (hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, veggie dogs, cut up veggies and dip...you get the idea), cleaned up and sat around the campfire playing cards, making smores, talking, looking at the stars. It's amazing how many stars you can see when there aren't any city lights around!




Saturday morning, after breakfast, we drove down to Pfeiffer State Park and walked about 1/2 mile to see a waterfall (to me it looks like someone peeing). It was foggy, so it was kind of hard to see. Then we went back towards our campground and took another hike to see a different waterfall. Mind you, California is having a drought year and the waterfalls are, shall we say...less than impressive, but it was a nice hike (2 and 1/2 miles) and tired out the kids (yeah).






We headed back to the campground where the kids floated on inner-tubes down the river. Yesterday, Sunday, we drove up to Point Lobos State Park and walked around the tide pools, then headed into Monterey and walked around. Today, we packed up camp and headed home. Twelve had something that she wanted to do. Since people have been asking, I decided to include a photo of Twelve, Me, and Ten..
DH was taking the picture...I'm the one in the middle...and just so you know...I was smiling.

Where or Where Has My Packing List Gone?

In less than 24 hours, I will be leaving to go camping for the weekend. Have I packed yet? No, of course not. I had every intention of packing earlier in the week, but life seemed to get in the way. There were lists to be made, supplies to buy, more lists to be made, additional trips to the store for things that I had forgotten. Did I mention lists?

I made lists and then lost said lists and then had to print out additional copies of lists, but couldn't find my 'thumb drive' (which had the list on it). Then I had to spend time looking for the thumb drive, and while I was looking, I remembered that I needed to get out some flashlights to take with us, and while I was looking for the flashlights, I found some bandanas and some rain ponchos...and oh wait then I needed batteries for the flashlights, but wait...wasn't I looking for my list?

Oh, no problem...I didn't need a list to remember that I needed to go to the shed and pull out the sleeping bags, cushions, camp stove, pots/pans, tent, tarp...well you get the idea. So now my family room looks like a camping store and I still haven't found that damn 'thumb drive'. And that's what I get for not saving the list onto my computer desktop. Did I mention, that I needed to find containers to put the paper towels, and garbage bags, and oh I know that there is so much more on my list...where could I have put it??? Where was the last place I had it... wait one second. No seriously...I think I know where I put the list. I'll be right back.

Am I a genius or what?!?...I found my list...under one of the bags of supplies that I purchased. I better stop procrastinating and go pack...Now if I can only find my pen...

A Hodge Podge of a Post

She's baaaack! I brought Twelve home Saturday afternoon. There was peace and quiet and harmony in our house for two days. By yesterday afternoon, things were back to normal. sigh.

I can't believe that it is already Tuesday! Had I decided to work summer school, I would have started working yesterday. I am so glad that I'm not working.


We're getting ready to go camping this weekend. (By "we're", I assume that you all know that I really mean that "I" am getting everything ready). Actually, I haven't started yet, but I will just as soon as I finish this post. I need to get the tent, sleeping bags, tarp and various other camping supplies organized and loaded into my van. I need to pack for myself, and supervise Ten and Twelve in their clothing choices. I also need to make a list of the food stuff and other supplies that we still need, and actually go purchase them. It's the usual 'before vacation' type of preparation. Although, I don't remember preparing this much when I was single, and was preparing to go backpacking in Europe for 12 weeks. Oh well, what's a woman to do?

I am an idiot. Yes, that is the confession that I made to Patches owner, Missus Chicca. In my bookmarks (on my computer) I had her address as the one with the date, and couldn't figure out why she hadn't posted...because everytime I went to her bookmark, it kept bringing me back to the one specific dated post... I am not too smart!

Having made that confession, I will head off to check the camping supplies, and make that list. Before I know it, it will be Friday and we'll be off. I'm looking forward to sitting by a river and relaxing (yeah right, there will be 20 people in our group...relaxing...who am I kidding, they'll be no relaxing for me, between setting up camp, meal preparation, hiking/exploring I probably won't get too much relaxing in, but I think that it will be great to just get away.

She's Almost Back

By the time you read this, I may already be on the road to pick Twelve up at camp. Then again, for those of you on the East Coast, I am leaving early...but not THAT early...(6amPST). I am really excited to hear about Twelve's week. I'm sure that she had a fabulous time. When I picked her up last year, she got into the car and had such stories to tell...I can't wait.

Last year, peace prevailed in this household until about 2-3 days after Twelve's return. It took that long for the calming effects of the camp to wear off. I'm thinking that I may stop at the red bullseye store and pick up some ear plugs on the way to the camp. That way in two to three day's time, after the effects of camp has worn off...the noise of Ten and Twelve fighting won't annoy me as much...I hope.

It Sure Is Quiet Around Here

Well, it Thursday and Twelve has been away since last Saturday. Ten has had no one to argue with, and it's been really quiet at my house. It amazes me that the absence of one Twelve year old girl could contribute to such peace and harmony within the household. I wonder what would happen if Ten went away to camp for one week...

If you happen to be wondering...yes, I do miss her. I am looking forward to picking Twelve up on Saturday. I offered to bring DH and Ten with me, but when I dropped Twelve off at camp last Saturday, she told me that she wanted time to 'decompress' (my word, but her thought) and just talk with me after camp. I'm glad that she still values 'talk with mommy time'. I hope that doesn't change.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day to one and all! I was trying to stay up until midnight to post this, so that the date would show July 4th...but I am soooooo tired, I can't stay up one more minute. So Happy Independence Day tomorrow (which if you are reading this at least 15 minutes from now, then it is probably today). Oh heck...you know what I mean. Have a great 4th!

Lacking in Culinary Skills

Last night we were invited to a friends house for dinner. This friend loves to cook, and it shows. (No she is not overweight, she just makes a great spread whenever we go over to her house for dinner.) Last night she put out some trays with yummy appetizers (cheese, crackers, dips, grapes...you get the idea) with a beautiful presentation of the food... and some yummy dishes for dinner... think 1). flat bread with portobella mushrooms, pesto sauce, goat cheese, and fresh basil 2). Pasta with fresh corn, peas, jalapeno pepper, goat cheese and some other ingredients which I can't remember 3). zucchini, fresh tomato, and seasoning as a salad 4) pound cake with Grand Marnier and vanilla icecream topped with fresh fruit for dessert...and if that wasn't enough, fresh watermelon. (I feel like I am channeling Ralph and Patti with all this talk about food). And to top it all of, she used beautiful dishes and trays to serve this meal.

Somehow, even with this friend's busy schedule, she manages to prepare a lovely meal on a Sunday afternoon for her family and friends.

Me...I entertain, but often find it quite the chore. When I have people over for dinner, I usually prefer to limit the amount of cleaning up that I will have to do after the meal, so I will opt for paper or plastic plates (sorry for all of my eco friendly friends...I just don't have the energy to stand and wash the dishes after cooking all day). Instead of a lovely linen table cloth (which I have) I will use a disposable one (I just can't seem to motivate myself to iron the table cloth, when it's just going to have to be washed and reironed after the meal).

I cook, but I don't love cooking. This friend, clearly loves to cook and try out new recipes. Me, I'm just lazy. I will make the same things over and over because I am too lazy to find a recipe and go to the store to buy all of the ingredients and then make a mess in my kitchen while I cook the new recipe, only to find that I am elbow deep in mixing ingredients and that I forgot one really important item, and then I have to drag my sorry rear end back to the store. Are you suddenly as tired as I am?

My friend was very kind to give me the recipe for one of the dishes, and having tasted it, I know that it is something that I can make. I just feel so uninspired when it comes to cooking. It's not that I don't have a boatload of vegetarian cook books (I do), I just get very overwhelmed looking at the recipes. If it's something that I've tried before, I'm more likely to attempt it, because, I know how it is supposed to turn out. I am so unwilling to try new recipes. What is that about me that makes me so afraid to try out new dishes? Why can't I be like all of those people who LOVE to cook, who LOVE to experiment with different food combinations? It just doesn't seem fair.

You know, all of this talk about food is making me hungry...how about a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich on whole wheat bread?