Friday, October 31, 2008

halloween - day

this morning we dropped Z off at school, then went out for coffee & a little breakfast. it was raining, whoohoo! Z's teacher asked us to gather leaves for a project for today's party. so after our breakfast we went out to the college & collected leaves in the rain.

before we knew it, it was time to head back to school for the party. the leaf project thingie (lay a leaf down, place a piece of paper over it, rub w/crayon flat to make an imprint) was a hit, some of them came out really neat. after the party was the parade which was complete chaos, like disneyland on a smaller scale.

then Z & I walked home & he was a little shit so i threatened him that if he kept on giving me 'tude he was spending halloween night in his room. he couldn't find his straw with pumpkins on it that when you blow on it sounds like sirens so he cried, whined & told me i couldn't eat any of his chocolate - out of nowhere. so i told him if that was the case, he wouldn't be allowed to eat ANY of his halloween candy & don't ya know he realized he needed to apologize.

when we got home we carved our pumpkins, sad to say but we did not find a single golden seed in the bunch. i want my $22 back. the grim reaper & oogie woogie came out pretty good though.

oh & as for our other projects, i only made 1 tree out of a paper bag, but it's nice. the salt dough ghosts were worthless, 2 survived out of the 4 we attempted.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

pumpkin time

i got reamed last night at the church pumpkin patch.

i didn't want to get pumpkins for our jack-o-lanterns early beings it's been so hot, so we went last night. Z & I went to the church pumpkin patch. i anticipated paying a bit more, church & all, but OH MY!

i didn't see any signs out for pricing & i guess i should have just asked beforehand, but i didn't. so Z & I walk around find a pumpkin & we take it up front & then go search for the 2nd one. we found another good sized one with a funky stem on it & go to check out.

guess how much our pumpkins were?

$11

a piece!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, i paid $22 for 2 flipping pumpkins. the church is just BAD, BAD, BAD for doing such things. who's going to hell i ask?

tonight we will cut into them, i'm hoping they contain seeds of gold that i can plant next year & grow golden pumpkins.

B's doing a grim reaper face on his & i haven't completely decided upon my project; it's either going to be jack the pumpkin king or oogie woogie from nmbc.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

are you ready for this?

no, trust me, you couldn't be! hahaha!

we had was started out as a perfectly innocent trip to the mall & stumble across a cost plus. i've loved this store ever since i was a kid & my mom would take me shopping in fresno for school clothes, everything was so exotic.

B & Z had already pissed me off so i told them the rule was - they had to leave me alone from the moment we entered the store, it's tough having 2 kids, one in the body of a 37 year old man. once i was done with my own peaceful browsing i decided it was time to go in search of the fam. i found them in the grocery section of the store.

& then B found this, see i have to put the link in there because if i simply told you what it was, you wouldn't believe there was such a thing (i know i wouldn't). unfortunately cost plus doesn't have their food options on line so i had to find it somewhere else & it's in different packaging....but that doesn't change what it is....yup, spotted dick pudding.

of course we bought a can, someone will be getting this as a gag gift. we don't know who or when, but that opportunity could simply not be passed up.

oh & i really do hope you clicked that link & read the description as it says & i quote "best served hot with custard"....geez, these people never stop!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

such a boy

i've had 'the talk' with Z, ok not that talk he's only 6, the talk about how boys are different from girls so he can't shower with me & should be around when i'm changing & such. remember?

yeah, so he's been pretty good about it. then the other night i'm changing in to jammies & he comes in. he sees that i'm changing so he puts his hands over his eyes but continues to walk into the room & talk. when i'm done changing i tell him he can put his hands down.

then he tells me "see momma, i covered my eyes...so wouldn't be looking at this"
as he proceeded to cup my left boob.

so glad he thoroughly understood that talk!

Monday, October 27, 2008

dear suzy

ok, so the rant of the week, ok, it's only monday, so possibly rant of the day, is about my mother & suzy orman.

let's go with my mother is not a finance wizard & we had our first discussions about her $$ habits when i was in my teen years. yup, even back then i was "really woman, you're out of control". she goes in waves of good & bad; things get bad, sometimes really bad & she realizes she needs to fix it & things get better, then she gets herself back into trouble. she goes with the idea that she will always live in debt, so her plan is to just manage it, not ever to get rid of it. i mean why? what for? just accept it not cause yourself any undue stress. smoke a bowl while you're at it (i'm kidding!)

so here she is & with the economic crisis the country is in, she has discovered suzy who fixes all. i've watched suzy, she's not bad, she helps people who need help, but really if you already know the basics (like pay your credit card bills & don't buy any more shit, dumbass) then you really don't get much out of it.

glorious suzy claims we're all f-ed up because we don't teach our kids how to manage $$ because we buy everything on credit. we need to give our children a cash allowance & teach them the value of a real dollar. i agree that kids do need to understand the value of real $$ & how to not survive on credit, that it's best for emergency purposes, etc. so my argument isn't with suzy is what i'm saying.

HOWEVER, dear mother who is content in her debt has decided she needs to give Z a weekly allowance. She wants me to make a list of chores (that he already does - change his sheets & feed the dog) so she can send him $$ for it (because we don't, we feel he should help with the house because he lives there - crazy i know).

she is completely ignoring of how financially responsible i've been my entire life. i worked days & paid my way through nights at college. i started a 401k plan before she did. B & I are financially stable; we use a credit card to earn reward points not to carry debt into eternity. doesn't she think these lessons are more important then a bogus "allowance"?

jaunt to LA

a couple of weeks ago when we were down at mom's i found my dress for the ball, but i needed shoes, so we headed down to LA on sat. B & Z both found something before i found my shoes (hello, this trip was all about me wasn't it? i guess not), but i found them.

the dress is a dark olive green with a gold shimmer to it, spaghetti straps, a little beading across the front & floor length. i was a bit puzzled about the shoes as gold would have been to flashy, black just didn't do it, so i settled on ivory. the lady who's altering the dress for me thought the length was good, as i was thinking it needed to be shortened, so i think only my toes will be visible anyways. we'll see later today when i go back to try the dress on with the alterations made.

anyways, yeah, so we did the shopping thing & decided what the heck why not stay the night? i think Z is a little more into hotels than your average 6 yr old as during the shopping he asked at least 5 times "are we getting a hotel?" when i asked why was he so hell-bent on the hotel (no, i didn't use the exact phrase w/him) he said he didn't want to drive home - like he has any concerns about the drive. so we stayed & i have to tell you, LA was hot, hotter than the desert & that's just wrong!

we went to bed shortly after 10 as we were all exhausted. i couldn't sleep, i tossed & turned passed 11:30 then finally at some point fell asleep only to be awakened shortly after 12:30 to a f-ing FIRE ALARM! i kid you not! it took us forever to get our shit together & become coherent & clothed (Z didn't even make it out of bed); finally by the time we opened the door people were already RETURNING to their rooms. somebody had burned their coffee pot so badly it set off the fire alarm. then about 1/2 later the alarm went off again (fire dept resetting the alarm), then 15 min later one more time for good measure.

i believe that's the closest i've ever come to being in a real fire, it was scary to go through the thought process of what is here that i can not replace? i realized most of all - B & Z of course, but my purse, ring, glasses & keys...& B needs to sleep with something on so it doesn't take so long for him to get dressed!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

i should have known

grey's wasn't a re-run so did i watch it? of course i did, silly!

during one of the commercial breaks i ran to the kitchen & set up the coffee pot for the morning, then as i was thoroughly involved in grey's i heard a noise. barely that is, as the tv had my full attn. then the 2nd time, i definitely heard it so then i stared at the kitchen waiting for it. & it didn't disappoint & i realized in my haste of setting up the coffee maker, i accidently pressed the start button.

so at 9:30pm i had hot coffee (not that i drank it, i can't do caffeine at night, but i had the option); which turns into not hot coffee at 7am. i turned the coffee pot off hoping in the morning to brew whatever remained & save the day but didn't bother looking to see how much really had been brewed as i needed to get back to grey's.

so in the morning i went got my coffee, hoping the evenings events hadn't really messed things up too much.
my coffee was bad & lukewarm but i thought i'll just heat it up & add more creamer & it should be fine. wrong.
ok, i'll add more creamer. still not good.
more creamer. now all flavor of bad coffee is gone but all i taste is lukewarm creamer.
so i heat up my cup of creamer hoping the coffee & creamer will meld & be friends. nope, still crap.

after i dropped Z off at school I stopped & bought a coffee. i don't see how people are ok with spending $5 on A cup of coffee on a regular basis. it wasn't even that good.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

too tired for grey's

i haven't looked but i'm hoping tonight's grey's is a re-run. i'm sorry for all you out there anxiously awaiting a new episode but seriously i'm still recovering from "ch" overload. honestly, this is like a fricken hangover.

1st day round 2

Z is so like me, surprises are not tolerated. we know this & although B thinks a lot of prep i do for the kid is uncalled for, seriously it helps in the long run. so last night when i put him to bed i told him he was going to the new class in the morning. that it wasn't a punishment we were trying a new class in hopes that he could learn better there.

this morning i met "new teach" we chatted about 10 min & i gave her a run down of everything (well all that i could in 10 min). she said she's been a teacher for over 24 years & that she had seen it all & that we would get through this. it was nice for her to be so comforting to me. i already like her for that & the fact that she greeted each child as they walked in the door & gave them a little hug. i drove to work knowing we had made the right decision & felt good about it. (finally, good, yeh!)

when i picked Z up he had a happy face for the day & he said he liked his new class. what more could one ask for?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

why is it they don't send home a bottle of tequila with 1st grade homework?

ugh, yeah, we spent OVER 3 HOURS reading 2 books.

yes, one book was a long compared to normal, it was 16 pages but the other one was only 8. so 24 pages in total over 180 minutes. i should count the words, but it doesn't really matter as many of them were repeated OVER & OVER but that didn't matter it was still like seeing for the first f-ing time.

the 2nd book was all about "ch", damn the f-ing "ch". i'm sure i said "ch" at least 100 times tonight. i don't think i ever want to use "ch" for the rest of my life, i've used up my share thank you very much.

everytime we came across it, Z was lost so i would say "ch" but for some reason whenever he tried to say it came out "cra" - which is abso-f'ing-lutely nothing like "ch". & if he was older i would have thought he was doing it for the pure torture he was putting me through but i could tell he really was trying. so in the end all i could do was laugh, tequila would have gotten me to that point a lot sooner.


in other news: i received a call from Z's teacher that he passed his reading test YEAH! (especially after the horrific evening we had) but i don't know wtf the test was about, so there's that....i mean is it a placement test or what?

then in the afternoon i got a call from his school, tomorrow he starts in the new class. i'll go with him in the morning to meet the new teacher & do what i can to get him situated. i really hope this works out for him. i assured him when i put him to bed that this wasn't punishment & that he hadn't done anything wrong, that he was going to a new class so he could learn more. he already knows the teacher & says she's mean = GOOD that's what we're looking for!

we also went to the counselor again this afternoon, Z was hesitant to talk. she asked about the add video & how we felt about it. i told her although we felt we saw a lot of certain traits we all (as in B, Z & I) had we weren't really sure that Z has add. i do think B & I have certain characteristics that fit but i think we've learned to manage them, so Z probably has that potential & he just needs help to keep himself in line. so we'll watch him, guide him & do what we can before we make a final call. then we played a game that was about learning how to accept things you don't like (ie rewarding a + attitude).

is it hot or is it just me?

the other day when i was driving home from work i felt hot although i knew it wasn't really THAT hot. i look at my temp gauge & it says 83. really, 83 is super cool in the desert, but yeah, i'm hot.

so then i look at the fan temp, it's all the way to blue, no red so the air coming in isn't heated. but dang, if i'm not super hot.

look back at the temp gauge, maybe it changed to like 120 in the 20 seconds that passed but no, still 83.

wtf? why am i so fricken hot?

by the time i'm almost home i look down & discover i had turned the seat warmer on that morning & forgot to turn it off so i was being cooked 'a la vw'.

stupid car, the seat warmer shouldn't work unless it's under 60 degrees out!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

the story about my mother, her dogs & chicken

so i had a tirade the other night when i walked into the dining room & found Z throwing his dinner on the floor to feed Lady. although we've had many a talk about not feeding her from the table, any food given to her goes into her bowl (not on the dingy, spotted carpet) & that table scraps aren't really the best thing for her to eat. he didn't know that i've got an argument from 20 years ago behind me, so when i stumbled upon the situation i couldn't stop my mouth from all the crap the fell out of it.

so here's the story:
one night my mom & i were having dinner (i was probably in my early teen years), just the 2 of us & her 3 dogs. my parents separated when i was 5, i have no siblings, my parents never remarried or had other children so i don't have any steps or halves, just me, i'm the only person that carries their combined dna.

anyways, yes, dinner, mom, me, dogs that she loves like children. as we ate our chicken & whatever else it was for dinner, she would give the begging mass of hair with mouths a bite of chicken. then when silly, hungry (& obviously completely stupid) me wanted to EAT MY dinner all hell broke loose because i refused to share....my chicken...that i wanted to eat....with the dogs.

i remember her saying she was completely appalled at how selfish i was because i didn't want to share my food with the dogs (never mind the f-ing bowl of dog food that's always there & full, that had absolutely nothing to do with it!).

so yeah, i have a thing about feeding dogs people food. call me a weirdo, but i think the people should get dibs.

& in case you're wondering, my mom still has dogs & now she buys them their own chicken. I'M NOT KIDDING - whenever you go to her house there is a tray a baked chicken breasts in the fridge for her dogs. they eat better (& healthier) than a lot of people

Monday, October 20, 2008

the ol' switcheroo

got an e-mail this morning from one of Z's buddy's momma...they decided J wasn't ready for 1st grade & they're changing schools. so what does that mean in our world?

it means the principal can no longer say Z can't change classes because there isn't an opening. so B went in this morning but the secretaries weren't there & principal said he can't do anything until secretaries tell him there's a spot. thems some powerful secretaries don't-cha think, principal can't do nothin without 'em.

i'm also a little sad though, this means 1 of Z's bestest buddies won't be on the playground at recess anymore. now he's only left w/L whom he occasionally punches in the stomach or eye...whatever...if you can't punch a friend every once in a while who can you punch?

Friday, October 17, 2008

add video

this morning i took Z to school then went in to talk with the principal. as i waited for him i spoke with the school counselor. he told me Z had changed...for the better; that he was a completely different person, friendly, happy & outgoing.

then i went in to talk with the principal. i told him we had met with an outside counselor, that we were going in the afternoon to watch a video on add to see if that was a possibility, but the real reason i was there was that the counselor agreed that Z would do better in a class with more structure. Z has issues with control, if the teacher can't control the kids Z feels it's his responsibility to kick ass & maintain order among the ranks. he also needs a lot of attn, to keep him focused, if other kids are messing around he wants to go get in the middle of it too.

the principal asked if i had spoken with teacher yet (i had not & explained this was my 1st opportunity to come to school). so then he says "well let's set up a meeting then & get everyone together" right then & there. (wow, receptive? oh, & he turned down the class switch thing saying there weren't any spots available) so the school counselor comes in, the teacher comes in & we all sit down & i'm on the spot (certainly NOT my favorite place to be), but this is for Z so i ramble my little head off like nobody's business.

the teacher & school counselor said they had seen a marked improvement in Z in the past few weeks. the teacher defended herself a bit about how she does have a schedule because she didn't get that i meant 'control of the class' when i said "structure". anyways, we were all pleased Z is going in the right direction & will meet again in 2 weeks. afterwards the front desk lady told me the principal told her to let him know if a spot opened in another class for Z, so he is taking it into consideration.

then in the afternoon B & I went to watch the add video. do i think Z has add? yes. i also think i have it, B has it, many people in my family have it & some of Z's classmates have it...GEEZ! this doesn't really do the video justice, but it's a link to the different types of add.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

drunk stories - phase 1

about a week ago i stumbled across a few good blogs & added to the list over to the right. please check them out, if i think they are funny, trust me, it's worth the time you are wasting anyways to stop on by & get a laugh.

so "the queen" had one heck of a post about getting drunk & then i found "no ordinary rollercoaster" whom instigated the story telling had links to all the results. definitely good times (reading maybe not living).

anyways so all that storytelling got me thinking about my drinking days...but i couldn't just pick one story, there were so many phases. i hate to say that, makes me sound like a complete alki, but, well.....

first hs party - my cousin was a senior when i was a freshman, so he took me to my first party the first week of school. what i remember - jungle juice & seniors are a lot bigger than freshmen. i don't remember consuming any alcohol prior to this, i was 14...let the partying begin...

partying throughout hs - underage drinking (have no clue where the alcohol came from) requires tactics & secluded places. lots of parties out in the boonies & i remember dancing on haystacks, if i fell of any i blocked it out.

i do remember one time my friend was making out with her boyfriend forever & her younger sister & i were bored so i (not so keenly) decided i was going to drive her boyfriend's truck. a) my driving skills weren't all that good to start out with, b) the alcohol that i consumed would negate what little driving skills i had at the time, c) his truck was a stick, and most importantly d) it was back in the day when everyone had full covers on the back of their trucks so i had to crawl thru that little tiny window to get to the front of the cab (because exiting through the back door made too much sense).

i made it thru the window, i believe the truck was on so all i had to do was put in the clutch, put it in gear, give it some gas & let off the clutch. which was probably 3 more steps than i could handle because i just killed it, the truck lurched forward & died....oopsie.

the next day i had bruises all over my stomach & sides from crawling thru that window & i was sore for days.

Z updates

last week when B was leaving for his trip was the 1st time Z cried about the separation. typically it's "bye, bring me a toy" but this time was different, full fledged crocodile tears for his Poppa & "i'm going to miss you". FINALLY, they have bonded.
yeah, i was a blubbering mess too, my period & aching neck certainly did not put me in a good place to start out with so Z's tears just pushed me over the edge.

in other news, the counseling session was ok. B & I go tomorrow to watch a video on adhd, to see if that could be a possibility. however, she said it sounds like he's just a born leader & prone to questioning authority - so we're hosed for life.
i knew i was screwed when he was 1 month old & he refused to take a bottle. i should have stared taking him to counseling right then & there!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

a totally awesome movie find!!!

take your ass to costco NOW!
the other day when we were down in the city, we stopped by costco to pick up salad & pizza for dinner at mom's & decided to peruse the movie section.
can you say trouble?

so my first find...are you ready??

uncle buck, YEAH BABY! i'm not a john candy fan, but i adore this movie & was so happy when i found it. the bad thing, it was packaged with a burt reynolds movie which made it REALLY difficult to pay for. i don't want to be associated with any part of a BR movie, but B told me after we paid it i could take off the packaging & give them the BR movie back, so that made me feel better. then i decided it was only $9 for both movies, i don't know that i could find UB alone for less than that & it wasn't a chance i was willing to take.

B found the Christmas classics Frosty the Snowman & Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer & we thought that would be just perfect for Christmas day.

then the holy grail of 80's movies....

are you on the edge of your seat?

well are you?

a box set including: Breakfast Club, Weird Science & 16 Candles.

i'll give you a minute to take all that awesomeness in...because really, i needed a few minutes to get my breathing back to normal too.

are you ok now?

so, um, yeah, we got that one too. like i wouldn't kick someone's ass right there in costco if it was the last one....
on the drive home B asked me if he could wrap it up as a christmas gift for me. i said sure, but i might open it before christmas.

oh, i don't even think i told you about him getting me a copy of nightmare before christmas on blue ray....get that? we don't have a blue ray player! he can be a really mean man when he wants to be.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

not looking forward

to the counseling appt for Z in the next few minutes....

we went back & forth over this last year, but then he seemed better. then he seemed worse. then he got suspended & we know we NEED to do this.

but it still doesn't feel good. i don't want to go. i feel like i'm going to be judged. that my parenting skills just aren't cutting it.

& although i originally thought taking Z to the counselor that i went to last year when B & I were having problems was a good idea, i no longer feel that way. i feel like the history she knows isn't truly representive of our home life, because when i was seeing her it was a really ugly time in our marriage. i hope she realizes that.

i hope she can help Z.

Friday, October 10, 2008

my little emo

B's been on travel this week so that means i've had to take Z to school in the morning...& be late to work with a completely valid excuse! more importantly, i also got to sleep in an extra HOUR every day!

the other morning when the alarm went off & i was still somewhat asleep the radio was talking about how it was REALLY cooling off & i thought, excellent i can wear a long sleeve shirt today (it is october, right?). then they said the high was going to be around 88...
although i've lived in CA my entire life & countless people (including B) have told me CA doesn't have seasons, i'm used to, want, like, more seasonal change than this!

oh, back to our regularly scheduled post...this morning when Z was getting dressed, he puts on his black "jack the pumpkin shing" (nightmare before christmas) shirt. our household loves jack, we were introduced to it by OC-D. the 1st time i watched it i didn't like it much, but danny elfman's talent is undeniable.
then Z tells me he's going to wear his black pants too. in a way, i'm proud of my little emo, starting the black phase so early in life, but realize it's a bit much & tell him he can't dress in all black (at least not until we get him the right boots, little trench, dye his hair black - kidding!). we've had this discussion about being too matchy, matchy.

oh & that shirt has the words "i'm your worst nightmare" on it & that's the shirt he chose to wear his first day back after being suspended...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

about 6

i often think about my age in relation to my mother's - as in i'm 37, when my mom was 37 i was 16. can i imagine what it would be like to have a 16 year old child? what if B & I met that much earlier in life & Z was now 16, what would he be like? how do i look compared to what i remember my mom looking like when she was 37?

answers:
NO, i can not even fathom having a 16 year old child, i'm having enough problems with the 6 year old thank you very much...

2 part, if B & I had met that much earlier in life for Z to be possible, i don't know that we would have hooked up, if we would have i doubt that we would have stayed together. i can't say for sure about B, but i know i had a ton of growing up to do & was so completely unsure of who i was. although being with someone was all i ever wanted, i really needed that time to figure myself out (still working on some parts!). as for imagining what Z will be like at 16 - tall (hoping), thin (genetically impossible to be anything but), if we're lucky he'll stay blonde & blue eyed...he'll probably have a bad case of acne & even more stubborn (if that's even possible!).

my mom & i have completely different body shapes, so a comparision is difficult but i think i'm holding on pretty good.


ok, where i was really going with this is tonight when i was reading to Z & laying next to him he was looking at me very strange, just really looking at me & for the first time i thought about my age in relation to him - what do i remember about being 6?

short answer - very little
the biggest thing - my parent's divorce was final & people would whisper about it. i hardly remember my parents being together other than the arguement they had before he left. even when i see pictures of my dad & i, it's like looking at someone else's life.
i remember my 1st grade teacher was Mrs. Sellers, she was small & wore cool black suits & i had a really hard time learning how to read.

sweet lil Z

on monday night when i was putting Z to bed he told me the treat box at school has rings in it & he wanted to get one for me. we pinky promised on all fingers that he would get a ring for me when he was up for a treat.

i thought it was sweet, but didn't really expect him to follow through. i mean it takes some work for the kid to be good, a while to be good enough to get a treat. so after all that work i feel he really deserves the treat; i certainly didn't think when the time came around & he was standing in front of the glorious box of goodies he would remember "oh yeah, i promised momma that ring". i thought for sure it would be i want that green snake or the plastic lizard, etc.

but yesterday afternoon when i picked him up, he had the ring for me. he even kept it in his pocket so it wouldn't get lost. is that the sweetest thing you ever heard or what?

he picked out one with the big stone, it's about 1 inch circumference yellow "diamond" although he says it's green (he knows green is my fav color).
when we got home he took it off my finger & put it in one of my jewelry boxes & told me i could only wear it on special occasions...& don't ya know, this morning just happened to be one!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Z's teacher - a rant

you have been warned, if you don't want to read about ranting i suggest you leave now...RUN!!!

alright, on friday when i went to class w/Z & he turned in his homework the signoff sheet wasn't signed & his teacher wasn't happy. i had asked her if he was supposed to be able to read by now & she said yes that most of the class could. she asked if he had gone to summer school, i told her no, that he wasn't recommended although we thought it would have benefited him. so over the weekend i sat down w/Z & had him read his little books from school. i think he finally got the whole sounding out thing instead of just guessing random words.

the signoff sheet is the parent's signature that the child has read all the books she sent home. yes, books. although they are little, 6 to 10 pages & they are simple, 4 to 6 words on a page, they are books & she sents about 6 home each monday.
I understand that if a child CAN read, they could probably go through all these books each night in less than 1/2 hour.
HOWEVER, if your child CAN'T read, one little 6 page book can cause vast amounts of fustration & tears for the parent as well as the child.

& let us not forget about the other homework that has to be done. a few pages of writing exercises, that's no problem. a few pages of math homework - oh & get this, it's F-ing word problems! for first grade! i know adults who can't do word problems! can we focus here? can we do math without words? how about a sheet with just numbers? when you make it word problems HE HAS TO READ? so guess what? we are reading lady who thinks i'm not doing my part! we're also crying about the reading! it's not that we aren't trying!

so what set me off you may be wondering?
last night, Monday, Z & I get home, i tell him to get his homework out of his backpaper & his pencil box so we can get started. i spread out all the worksheets & tell him to put them in the order he wants to complete them in. then i notice there's no books. then i look at the signoff sheet & notice the teacher has changed the acknowledgement statement from the book list to "i have read to my child 20 minutes every night".

so do i think this is directed at me? yes.
i'm pretty sure she thinks i don't read to him & therefore he hasn't learned to read & he's having a really difficult time learning. she doesn't know how much i DO read to him. even the counselor told me Z told him how much he loves that i read to him every night. i don't sign her sheet because he can't read the books. i'm not going to sign it so he can have a treat & she can feel good about herself if it's not the truth.

oh & i called her about the missing books. she said she put them in his folder herself (i'm not sure who else would), but another parent called saying they were missing their set as well. so i explained that i wanted her to know we hadn't received them so she could be sure to send them home today beings we were almost finished with the worksheets.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

back to school

i thought it was worth my while to go spend some time in Z's class, observe how things go & all. so i took him to school on fri & sat in class for 1/2 hour. i helped him on his 1st page of work, stood & recited the pledge of allegiance (wow, i still remember it!), then continued arguing about the order of doing the work because he wanted to color first. he even had to go confirm with his teacher, that yes, work first, color last. stubborn as all hell i tell you!

then i left for an appt & was back shortly after 10 for reading. when i arrived there were already 4 other parents in class (either everone has a lot of free time on their hands or this teacher has many concerned parents!). the teacher sat in the back of the room with her alternating reading group while the parents took over sections of the class.
the teacher seemed to manage her reading group ok, but i'm wondering what she does on a regular day when she doesn't have 5 helpers watching over the rest of the chaotic class...

after reading it was lunch time & i followed Z into the cafeteria. i'm surprised he likes eating there; i never did, i always thought the food was gross, it smelled bad. i always brought my lunch, a pb&j. i should be diabetic with all the pb&j's i ate over the years. oh, i did eat in the cafeteria in hs, but only when they served bean burritos because they made some kickass hot sauce!

Z hardly ate his hamburger & fries, just the fruit cup was gone; then he headed out for recess. now we know the truth (1st handed) when he complains about not having enough time to eat his lunch. i watched him play & took him to the office for clean up when he fell & scraped his elbow. shortly thereafter the bell rang for class & my time was up, i had enough of school.

as i put Z to bed he asked me to stay at school with him tomorrow, it makes me happy he likes me there.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

one step closer

whoohoo - retirement package approved baby!
if all hell breaks loose the longest they can keep B in is Dec 2009, but the paperwork has Sept 2009 as an exit date - SAH-WEET!!!

& although this may make us sound a little dumb, B & I just realized something...at first when we moved here, we KNEW once he was out we were so out of this town, but then we realized we were being hasty. we don't like it here, no doubt about that.

HOWEVER, there is a real possiblity that he could get job here that would make it worth our while for us to stay; but it would have to be something REALLY, REALLY good to compensate us for the strain on our mental health & fund all the necessary outings to cope with living in BFE. (option 1, in random order as they fall out of my brain)

we still have the house in SD, we can kick the renters out, live there & both find new jobs or B may go back to school. (option 2)

holy cow, we're like 18 all over again & go ANYWHERE!!! (option 3)
& THAT was kinda dumbfounding. at first we thought oh, maybe try NoCal, then hey how about something like oregon or seattle? then i went crazy & decided to start looking at places in sicily....why not?

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

not feeling so good

i wasn't feeling so good last night, my back was hurting & i had a bit of a headache. then i made the ultimate mistake of getting on the floor, laying on my back, put my hands above my shoulders flat on the ground & arching my body up off the floor.....for a millisecond.

it was supposed be longer but my back said 'hell no' because i realized i hadn't put my body in that position in years & it certainly wasn't going to cooperate out of the blue like that. although i dropped back to the ground as quickly as i could & put my head between my knees begging my back for forgiveness, it was too late, damage was done.
after that i just laid on the sofa an aching mess; if my headache was still there, the back spasms distracted from it.

then last night i dreamt about the vieja, the hag i used to work with at the soils company. i haven't posted about her yet, but she's a nightmare (although oh so real) from my past. i haven't seen her since, wow, shortly after i announced i was pregnant & she went berserk (i shit you not) & Z's 6 now. i promise to write about her later though, some very entertaining stories. i don't remember anything about the dream other than her presence. i'm thinking she kicked my ass though, that's how i feel at least....
oh how i hurt & my head is foggy.

although i'm not a huge Paul Newman fan, i feel it's worthy to note about his passing. he was a gifted man. i've added to my blog title "if i had a plan i would be screwed", it is said this is a sign that hung in one of his offices. i like it, so i'm stealing it.