Common Mom

I am working at home today. I usually do not work at home . . . I don’t like to work at home . . . it’s chilly in my basement office . . . it’s quiet (except for iTunes) . . . I like PEOPLE . . . and there are just too many fun things waiting for me at home that it’s difficult to concentrate (one of the many reasons my office is down in the cold dark basement instead of on the warm sunny deck!) So why, you ask, am I working from home on a day when I got up early to shower, made my perfectly healthy kids breakfast, and dropped them off at school? It’s certainly not because I WANT to be alone in the house with the nasty mouse that ran across the laundry room counter this morning, almost sending the littlest one in pigtails in to orbit! It’s because the pest control guys are booked and busy and are going to try to stop by the house when they get a chance. So until that happens, I’m sitting not-so-happily at the computer in my home office basement, with my feet as high off the floor as possible, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

I’m also turning on every light possible when I walk in to a dark room - no more roaming around in the dark and reaching into dark spaces - ICK! I can just imagine stepping on or touching “that thing” - bluck! I’m also having a sudden urge to empty out every closet, drawer, cabinet, cupboard and scrub scrub scrub. Who knows where that thing has been since he got here!

ICK ICK ICK! And yesterday I was freaked out by a little spider that I made my 7 year old “get” and take out to the trash. He of course trapped it in his bug catcher and let it go outside to be free and find its family No, I do not like bugs, spiders, or RODENTS! That’s why I had a boy first . . . so he can do the bug work while Daddy is gone flying

Happy Thursday!

Asking for all of you to pray for Ms. Lupita in the next couple of weeks. Ms. Lupita is Keira’s preschool teacher. Ms. Lupita has 3 wonderful boys, the youngest is 13. She and her husband have been trying to adopt a little girl from Mexico for the past 3 years. The little girl was orphaned at the age of 5 and has been living with them here ever since. The adoption was supposed to be final 2 weeks ago, so Ms. Lupita flew to Mexico to meet with the judge and sign all the papers and all would be done and happy. Unfortunately, her lawyer in Mexico royally messed up and only submitted COPIES of all the paperwork . . . and went on to lose the originals. The judge could not believe it - he told Ms. Lupita that if he was her, he’d go tell that lawyer what he thought and immediately find a different lawyer. All of that happened, but it still did not solve the problem - the adoption was NOT finalized, and instead they have to start all over, including home inspections and everything so they can have original paperwork for the court. The HUGE deal in all of this is that the little girl’s Visa expires at the end of the year and they will not allow an extension because she is not family. So, if they can’t expedite this process and finalize the adoption before the end of the year, the little girl who has been living with them for the past 3 years will be sent back to the orphanage in Mexico.

So please pray that Ms. Lupita receives good news on her trip to Mexico next week and that all of this works out. This little girl has been through enough and deserves to stay with a loving family who wants her.

Alas . . . soccer season has come to an end. I wasn’t so sure about this coaching gig in the beginning, but I must admit that it was A LOT of fun and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I learned SO MUCH about soccer, it’s amazing. And my little ladybugs were so sweet - I got hugs and thank yous from each one of them, and they gave me a gift card for $30 to Kohl’s! Totally unexpected . . . but I can’t wait to go shopping

Here are my little Ladybugs wearing their medals.

My son’s team had a fun season as well. They moved up an age group, so it was a challange for some of the younger ones to keep up, but they had a great coach. The boys learned a lot and so did I from watching them! Here are the hurricanes sporting their medals.

Now that soccer is over, what ever will I do with my Thursday evenings and Saturdays

Yet another recall . . . plastic children’s cups from Starbucks. The link is difficult to find on the Starbucks Web site. For additional information and actual photos of the cups, go here on the CPSC site.

I was only one day off - I predicted we’d get our first snow on October 15th. The rest of the world thought I was crazy because it’s been in the uppers 70s and 80s lately. Well, yesterday, IT SNOWED at my house - woo hoo! Of course it didn’t stick to the ground, but the white fluffy stuff was falling out of the sky most of the day and I’m so excited. You see, being the MN native that I am, I LOVE WINTER. I really do love snow, and warm mittens, and wool hats, and sledding, and ice skating. I bought boots for the kids last week, just in case, because I had a feeling.

And after 3 years living in the snow belt with only my back and my shovel to clear the driveway, I finally convinced my husband that I NEEDED a snowblower last year . . . I got one - in February - after I’d shoveled the driveway a gazillion times - after it was almost finished snowing for the season. It may have come a little late, but hey, it’s waiting in the garage for me to fire it up this winter - I even backed in to it with the Jeep last night to make sure it was still there!

So on to winter - woo hoo! Are you a winter fan?

1 - Soccer game left this fall
2 - Wonderful children I have
3 - Days until I play volleyball with the girls
4 - Pumpkins we need to pick out at the pumpkin patch on Saturday
5 - Runs the Rockies scored in their win over the Diamondbacks last night
6 - Days I’ll be on vacation with my mom, grandmother, and 4 aunts
8 - Days until the BBQ for our previous daycare provider and other families that used her
11 - Years I have worked for this company as of this week
11.5 - Years I have been married to my wonderful husband
12 - Number of hours I’ll spend scrapbooking with my friends on Sunday
14 - Days we’ll spend with family over Christmas
15 - People who will be at the BBQ for our previous daycare provider
19 - Days until Halloween - BOO!
20 - Days until I leave for vacation with my mom, grandmother, and 4 aunts
22 - Days until we fall back one hour
25 - Days until we vote
35 - Years I have been on this Earth
41 - Days until Thanksgiving
64 - Days until Keira’s birthday party
67 - Days until we leave for our Christmas in MN
71 - Days until Keira’s birthday
74 - Days until Christmas

We had our first parent/teacher conference with Jason’s teacher last night. You can only trust your children when they tell you things about school . . . I mean, we know our son and what he’s like, so we can of course make some judgements about what he tells us. But our meeting with Mr. K last night bordered on funny

Here are some samples of what Jason told us throughout this first quarter and what we heard at the parent/teacher conference.

Jason: We’re only on the letter P for getting our special fun time for being quiet. It’s so annoying that David and Gabby talk all the time when they’re supposed to be quiet. They’re the only two that always make us lose our letters.
Mr. K: Jason got this lower score because of his listening skills. He certainly is a talker!

Jason: Mr. K. did a desk dump today. My desk didn’t get dumped. He said my desk was the cleanest one.
Mr. K: Did Jason tell you about the desk dump? His didn’t get dumped but it’s certainly on the edge. It’s one of the worst ones.

Jason: I had to sit on the line at recess for 5 minutes today. Mr. Krich said I was answering too loudly in class. But I’ve never gotten in trouble before. (this was the day I got a note sent home from the teacher)
Mr. K: Yah. He’s a talker. He has to sit on the line at recess about 3 times a week. His mind is just going constantly and he’s just not mature enough yet to be able to stop his mouth from talking.

Jason: I’m always finished with my work first in class and I do a good job. Then I just sit down and work on the other things we’re allowed to work on while we wait for the other kids.
Mr. K: Jason thinks that he has to finish first no matter what. That’s why he got this lower score here. He can do the work, but he needs to take his time and think about his answers. And when he’s finished, he needs to work on the list of things I’ve written on the board and not bother his friends who haven’t finished yet.

So there you have it . . . what boys say and what teachers say We of course sat down and went over his report card with him and explained what Mr. K said and also explained that while he did well in most things, he needs to really work hard on taking his time and not the talking when he’s not supposed to so he can try to raise some of those scores.

Ahhhhh - his first foray into report cards. Only 10 more years to go!

This is what we get to look at while watching the kids play soccer. I think I can handle it.

Mommy Day is very important to me. With my hubby gone so much, I need time to myself, away from the kids, without being at work. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a much better person, wife, and mother when I get that time to rejuvenate each week.

Yesterday marked the start of another volleyball season - woo hoo! I play with some friends in a 4 person competetive women’s league on Monday nights. I have no dillusions that I am qualified to be in that league, but the other 3 girls are, so I tag along and get a good workout. Last night, we won! YEAH! This past summer I decided to take a break from Mommy day - I didn’t sign up for volleyball or softball, which means I haven’t played a team sport for oh, 5 months! This is good for relaxing and playing with the kids. This is not so good for the body or mommy’s need of adult interaction.

Things I learned at volleyball last night…

• 5 months is not long enough for an injured arm to heal.
• I am no longer 25.
• My body is no longer 25.
• The girls we play against are much closer to 25 than I am.
• 25 year olds are quick.
• No matter how often you work out at the gym, you never use the same muscles as you use in volleyball. I have all kinds of muscles I never knew were there - ouch!
• The 30 minute drive to and from volleyball - alone - in a quiet car - is very therapeutic.
• Friends who will come to your house from 8:00-10:30 p.m. to hang out while your kids sleep so you can go play volleyball are priceless.

Do you have a set Mommy Day where you always do something?