Farewell

I have given this a lot of thought. It is just so hard to be consistent, or at least to the level I want to be at, when the kids are not in school and with summer coming, it is just not going to be pretty!! Also, this has started to feel like a job and I don't ever want that to be the case, so I am going to give it up before it gets unbearable, ya know?

Saturday's Deep Thoughts

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

Saturday's Deep Thoughts

People who give are never poor - Anne Frank

I hate unnecessary drama

My three young boys go to a private school. It is not the most expensive private school there is, but it is smaller and the parents are involved and all.

The older two (who are in 5th and 6th grades) have been asking to go to the public middle school next year if the house has not sold yet and I finally broke down and am planning to let them. However, what always bothered me was that the youngest would then not have a great reason to go to the private school alone and we really liked the pre-K teacher there. I did not pre-register him, but that still bothered me almost daily.

And then there was drama. I hate drama.

The school decided that the teacher would not be invited back in the fall because she did not have her teaching certificate. Nevermind that she was actively pursuing it and was only two classes away, or the fact that she was not told there was a deadline. The school made it a lot easier not to have him go back! But now I have no idea what I am going to do with him next year. It was a great program and I am sure I will not be able to challenge him nearly as much at home. The good news is that he will be 4, so he is not legally required to go to anything. The bad news is that I cherish the time they are in school and when they are not, I do not get anything done!

There was NEVER any drama at the school until this year. I do not want to point fingers or anything, but I have a theory that, at this point, falls into the category of conspiracy-theory...

I just want the house to sell now so I can get as far away from these people as possible!!

"free" stuff on the internet - is it really free?

I woke up with a start on Sunday and thought "Oh no! I did not do a deep thought for Saturday this week." So I hope you will forgive me. It was just a LONG weekend!

My son - who is going for be 11 in a week - thinks that when something on the internet says "free" then it is. Despite trying to teach him about what else he might have to pay for and whatnot, he just doesn't get it. And this morning, that was brought home to us again.

We got the mail from Saturday when we took the kids to school because before that, we just forgot. In it was the phone bill. The phone bill jumped almost $20 this month, so we were shocked and confused! There was a charge on the bill for "enhanced voice mail" which we do not have. So we call AT&T and they tell us it was added and authorized by a third party and only they can take it off. Then, we call them and they tell us that our son added it while downloading "free" music from the internet, which was stupid. But they also asked for confirmation of your birth date and he LIED about his age. I am livid. I can totally get how they may have tricked him, but we told him not to sign up for anything and this is why! He has been asking for an "iTunes account" to which I keep saying no because he cannot be trusted and he has again proven why... I am so mad I could spit!

I am not old enough to...

This is my last age post. I was going to say "I swear..." but I will not make that sort of promise, because who knows what the future holds. It is enticing to think that I say it and then post again and you all have to respond to call me out on it, but I don't roll that way....

But I digress.

Anyway, I was just thinking that at this age, my mom was an empty-nester and my youngest is not quite 4! I have 14 more years of having them live here and if I had done it differently, I could be done! Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but the oldest two are just at that age where they are "challenging"! (Gotta love the 'tween ages!)

I also had an anniversary over the weekend and I just keep thinking that when my own parents celebrated the SAME anniversary, I was a senior in high school and my YOUNGER brother was also in high school. All three of my kids are under 12!

I am having several moments where I keep thinking about how I compare to others. And I try not to compare myself to others very often, but this is just one of those things that lends itself quite easily to comparisons, so I do it.

ARGH! I know it can and will make me nuts, but I can't help it!!

Milestone Birthday

I had a milestone birthday over the weekend.

First of all, my birthday was on Saturday (April 25!) and I spent all day at a track meet with 2 of the kids. I did tell DH that I was NOT going to take the youngest because I thought I could just relax. And then, when I got there, I got a "job" with the track coach. I was the "runner" between the coaches. Fortunately, they did not need too much, but I was at the ready AND on the track "infield" all day. I was so happy to SIT at lunch!! And I had to get up and be showered before 6:30AM. On a Saturday. That was just not right! And then the youngest woke me up at 4:45AM. That night I was WIPED!

That day was also my anniversary and I had a dinner plan for DH and I, but man, I was wiped! I planned the frugal version on an anniversary dinner. I got something frozen and a bag of chips for the kids. DH fed them while I was out. Then he and I had takeout and a couple bottles of beer and the kids watched a movie on another LEVEL of the house. They were great about leaving us alone.

The dinner plan was a picnic with takeout and a bottle of champagne, but DH did not want to sit on the ground - he said bad knees - and he thought the champagne did not go with the meal, so it was beer. I wondered if it was special enough, but without the kids around, he said it was...

I never said what the milestone was, did I? I turned 40 over the weekend! Yikes! The good news is that I had 3 people tell me last week that I did not look 40 and I even got carded once!

To celebrate the birthday, DH hosted a low-key cookout last night and I was amazing!

I had a little angst about 40 for the few weeks beforehand. I was not worried about immediate mortality and all, but I am worried that there may be more years behind me then before me. And I also remember that when I was younger, I thought 40 was ANCIENT!

I feel like there are so many people younger than me that have dome such amazing things! I want to do something amazing too!!