I know I've posted my views on religion before and while I'm not trying to repost what I've already mentioned I have to get this off my chest. Before I begin, let me say that I realize the religious views I'm speaking of are not those of a large group of people. There are a very select group of people who subscribe to this religion and/or beliefs. Don't be offended, these are my thoughts...
L had to choose a book to read over the summer from a list of books. She had to have read this book before school started as they would be having a test on their selected book within the first week of school. She chose a book called The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. I was scrambling for something to read last night so I borrowed this from her. I'm just over 2/3 of the way through it and I'm having a hard time.
I'm having a hard time putting it down and I'm having a hard time stomaching it. It's about a family of Polygamists. This man has three wives and something like 15 kids between them. The main character is a 13 year old girl who is the eldest of the third wife. She's just been "promised" to an Apostle of the Church who also happens to be her Uncle. Not that I agree with polygamy, because I don't, but this is where I'm having trouble stomaching this storyline. This is a thirteen year old girl who will be married to her uncle. She is having a very hard time accepting this and is planning on running away, and that's as far as I've gotten. The decision to marry this girl to her uncle was delivered to the family by The Prophet who claims to have visions or something like that from God Himself. The Apostles and the Prophet are apparently very important people in this community and their word is final.
I don't understand how someone, some people, can blindly follow someone because they "claim" to have a direct line to God. The father in this book is upset that his daughter is to marry her uncle but only because of blood lines. Not because it's a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. What parent would give their little girl to a grown man to marry simply because someone claims they were told to do so? I don't get it.
This community, they call themselves a Compound, have gated off their property. There are no books allowed on the property unless it's the bible. Girls are not allowed to choose whom they want to marry but are chosen by the men. The men and the boys are the ones who will leave the compound to get supplies, food, etc. When the three mothers in the story went to town to buy material for this girls wedding dress, the girl was directed not to look directly at anyone and not to look at their clothes because all of it is influenced by Satan. I don't get it.
I could never imagine not being allowed to think for myself. I could never imagine not being able to choose my spouse. I could never imagine having my life lead for me and not having a say in it at all. I can't imagine being so weak that I can't stand up for my children. Anyone who may live this life, or have lived it, probably doesn't agree with me, and that's fine.
Sorry. That's my rant. I just don't get it...
Lianna & Kiley
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Weekend Review - Even Though Its Tuesday :)
This past weekend is kind of a blur. I feel like I did so much yet I don't really remember doing anything. Friday night began our bowling league. This is the first time I've ever been on a bowling team. I suck at bowling and this may be why I've never been on a team before! I don't think I broke 90 for any of the three games! I did have a good time though so that's got to count for something! However, I didn't realize that bowling would stretch out your butt muscles. My butt cheek hurt so badly all weekend! So did my thumb. I need to invest in a bowling ball drilled for my fingers and not use the house balls. Especially since this league goes for 32 weeks... Another plus is that we were able to talk Craig into changing the team name! WOO HOO! For years they've been the Boozing Rockstars. I've despised that team name for as long as M has been bowling with them which is a long time. I don't know why, I just have. This year Craig, Paul, Beth, M and I decided that we would be Hungover Tomorrow. I still like Beth's and my original team name idea - Mish and the Wet Fish. (Paul's nickname is Commish because he's the Commissioner of the guys Fantasy Football league. Comish somehow morphed into Wet Fish. I have no idea why, but the nickname has suck.)
Saturday morning L had a "Friendly" soccer game to see how her team plays together. The majority of these girls have ever played on a team together before, so this was a good way to see how they'll do. If Saturday's "Friendly" game is any indication - they're going to be creamed each and every game. L plays for a U16 team which means the girls are 16 years old or younger. They played against the U14 girls team from their same club. The U14 girls won 5 - 1. This was supposed to be a friendly game, meaning it didn't count for anything and was just for fun. Our girls would start to get rough and another girl from our team would yell "Friendly game! Friendly game!" and the girl getting rough would back off a bit. One of the U14 girls grabbed our player by the arm and threw her to the ground. All because our girl was trying to get the ball away from her. DUH! That's kinda the point! We got a penalty kick for it and that was our only goal. L was not happy with the results of that game.
I managed to burn my face during that game. It never even occurred to me to put sunscreen on before we left the house. You'd think this was my first time. I was sitting on the bleachers with the sun reflecting off them and onto my face for an hour and a half. Now I look like an Umpaloompa with tan lines from my sunglasses. I'm beginning to peel too and that is not a good look for me.
I found out L has a soccer tournament in Overland, KS October 1 - 3rd. She is not a happy camper about this. October 2nd is her Homecoming and she's been planning it since half way through summer. I've already paid for her entrance fee. That was part of the cost of her soccer. I'm responsible for lodging, travel expenses, and meals, but that can be worked out. I've explained to L that I've already partially paid for this and I'm trying to give her time to be responsible and realize that she made a commitment to this team which includes tournaments, and make the "decision" on her own to forgo her Homecoming. I have a feeling she's not going to come to this conclusion, and I'll end up being the "Bitch who makes her miss Homecoming". The way I see it, she desperately wanted to be a part of this team. She wanted to be on a Travel Soccer team instead of a Park District team. I explained to her when I paid for it that she will not be allowed to miss any practices nor any games, and a tournament is a game. (Several games back-to-back actually.) This is not going to be pretty.
Saturday night M had his Fantasy Football draft at Paul's, and K had gone with her friend to Open Gym, so L and I ordered pizza and rented the movie Precious. Oh my god - was that a good movie. I didn't think I'd care for it much because it seems that when movies get raving reviews and awards and shit I end up not liking them much, but I was wrong. That was a really touching movie. If you haven't seen it I recommend you do. Go to Redbox! That way you only spend a dollar and if you end up not liking it - no biggie! I love me some Redbox for that reason alone.
Our air conditioner has been on the fritz since this past Wednesday. And of course it's been hot as hell in Chicago for the last week. My landlord finally had a guy come last night to recharge it. That makes it the 3rd time since Memorial Day Weekend. You shouldn't have to put that much Freon in an air conditioner. The air conditioner is leaking and needs to be fixed but my landlord's such a penny pincher that he'd rather pay for someone to come out every 1 1/2 months to put more Freon in it. The guy out there last night even told my landlord it needs to be replaced. (My landlord comes over to watch any time we have any repair work done on the house.) M walked the air conditioner guy around the house when he was done and the guy told M that our landlord isn't going to do anything to fix the air conditioner. I told M that the season for needing air conditioning is almost over. As long as it lasts until the weather breaks that's fine for this year, but he'll have to do something about it next year. We're going to be there for another 2 years and I'm not going to deal with a busted air conditioner every 1 1/2 months. Especially when it takes our landlord nearly a week to get someone out there to fix it.
So far school has been going well for the kids. I haven't heard any complaints from them in that department. I had to explain to L last night that when she has soccer practice (Mon/Weds/Thurs) she's to come home and do her homework. Then she can go visit her boyfriend at the skate park, but she's not to go there and do her homework. I also had to explain to her that there's no reason for me to drive her the 2 1/2 blocks to her soccer practice when she's walked to Wal Mart over the summer. Wal Mart is like 4 miles away from our house, but she wants me to drive her to soccer practice?! She's out of her tree. I also had to explain to her that she's not to use her cell phone while she's doing her homework. What the heck is wrong with that child?! She can't be further than 2 feet from her phone at any given time. And if she can't read a text IMMEDIATELY she starts twitching.
K actually got up this morning. On. Her. Own. I'm so proud! I heard her alarm going off right before I was walking out my bedroom door and she'd turned it off before I opened her bedroom door! I walked into her room, saw that she'd turned off the alarm and was laying there with her eyes open. She looked at me and said "I'm awake." So I went to make coffee, feed the dogs and let them out. When I got back upstairs I was sure she'd be asleep again, but she wasn't. She was still in her bed, but she was awake. Don't know what happened to change her from a Morning Mess to getting up with her alarm, but I'm liking it!
Saturday morning L had a "Friendly" soccer game to see how her team plays together. The majority of these girls have ever played on a team together before, so this was a good way to see how they'll do. If Saturday's "Friendly" game is any indication - they're going to be creamed each and every game. L plays for a U16 team which means the girls are 16 years old or younger. They played against the U14 girls team from their same club. The U14 girls won 5 - 1. This was supposed to be a friendly game, meaning it didn't count for anything and was just for fun. Our girls would start to get rough and another girl from our team would yell "Friendly game! Friendly game!" and the girl getting rough would back off a bit. One of the U14 girls grabbed our player by the arm and threw her to the ground. All because our girl was trying to get the ball away from her. DUH! That's kinda the point! We got a penalty kick for it and that was our only goal. L was not happy with the results of that game.
I managed to burn my face during that game. It never even occurred to me to put sunscreen on before we left the house. You'd think this was my first time. I was sitting on the bleachers with the sun reflecting off them and onto my face for an hour and a half. Now I look like an Umpaloompa with tan lines from my sunglasses. I'm beginning to peel too and that is not a good look for me.
I found out L has a soccer tournament in Overland, KS October 1 - 3rd. She is not a happy camper about this. October 2nd is her Homecoming and she's been planning it since half way through summer. I've already paid for her entrance fee. That was part of the cost of her soccer. I'm responsible for lodging, travel expenses, and meals, but that can be worked out. I've explained to L that I've already partially paid for this and I'm trying to give her time to be responsible and realize that she made a commitment to this team which includes tournaments, and make the "decision" on her own to forgo her Homecoming. I have a feeling she's not going to come to this conclusion, and I'll end up being the "Bitch who makes her miss Homecoming". The way I see it, she desperately wanted to be a part of this team. She wanted to be on a Travel Soccer team instead of a Park District team. I explained to her when I paid for it that she will not be allowed to miss any practices nor any games, and a tournament is a game. (Several games back-to-back actually.) This is not going to be pretty.
Saturday night M had his Fantasy Football draft at Paul's, and K had gone with her friend to Open Gym, so L and I ordered pizza and rented the movie Precious. Oh my god - was that a good movie. I didn't think I'd care for it much because it seems that when movies get raving reviews and awards and shit I end up not liking them much, but I was wrong. That was a really touching movie. If you haven't seen it I recommend you do. Go to Redbox! That way you only spend a dollar and if you end up not liking it - no biggie! I love me some Redbox for that reason alone.
Our air conditioner has been on the fritz since this past Wednesday. And of course it's been hot as hell in Chicago for the last week. My landlord finally had a guy come last night to recharge it. That makes it the 3rd time since Memorial Day Weekend. You shouldn't have to put that much Freon in an air conditioner. The air conditioner is leaking and needs to be fixed but my landlord's such a penny pincher that he'd rather pay for someone to come out every 1 1/2 months to put more Freon in it. The guy out there last night even told my landlord it needs to be replaced. (My landlord comes over to watch any time we have any repair work done on the house.) M walked the air conditioner guy around the house when he was done and the guy told M that our landlord isn't going to do anything to fix the air conditioner. I told M that the season for needing air conditioning is almost over. As long as it lasts until the weather breaks that's fine for this year, but he'll have to do something about it next year. We're going to be there for another 2 years and I'm not going to deal with a busted air conditioner every 1 1/2 months. Especially when it takes our landlord nearly a week to get someone out there to fix it.
So far school has been going well for the kids. I haven't heard any complaints from them in that department. I had to explain to L last night that when she has soccer practice (Mon/Weds/Thurs) she's to come home and do her homework. Then she can go visit her boyfriend at the skate park, but she's not to go there and do her homework. I also had to explain to her that there's no reason for me to drive her the 2 1/2 blocks to her soccer practice when she's walked to Wal Mart over the summer. Wal Mart is like 4 miles away from our house, but she wants me to drive her to soccer practice?! She's out of her tree. I also had to explain to her that she's not to use her cell phone while she's doing her homework. What the heck is wrong with that child?! She can't be further than 2 feet from her phone at any given time. And if she can't read a text IMMEDIATELY she starts twitching.
K actually got up this morning. On. Her. Own. I'm so proud! I heard her alarm going off right before I was walking out my bedroom door and she'd turned it off before I opened her bedroom door! I walked into her room, saw that she'd turned off the alarm and was laying there with her eyes open. She looked at me and said "I'm awake." So I went to make coffee, feed the dogs and let them out. When I got back upstairs I was sure she'd be asleep again, but she wasn't. She was still in her bed, but she was awake. Don't know what happened to change her from a Morning Mess to getting up with her alarm, but I'm liking it!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You
I just want to take a moment to say Thank You to all the men and women who have served this country and who are currently serving our country. You do a nearly impossible task and you do it voluntarily. You protect our country, our rights, our everything.
Thank You.
Thank You.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Good Friend and Chicago Style Pizza!!
First - The girls had a good first day at school. Minus K's issue with following directions and hearing what I'm actually saying, but that was yesterdays post! Onward... L found out that her photo class will require anywhere from $70 to $90 depending on how much film and paper she uses. WHAT?! (Did I tell you all that her friggin books cost me $187 last week? For used text books! That she'll turn in at the end of the school year, and I'll receive a total of $31.20 credit for. AND the school will turn around next year and charge another parent $35 for the same text book. Someones raking in the dough here and it's NOT me. That's so bullshit it's not even funny.) So I'll have to figure out a way for her to pay for that class because for her to drop it will cost me $40. Since when did public school cost so much money? Really.
I met up with Cheryl and her boss, Brandon last night at Gino's East. Cheryl grew up in Glendale Heights until Freshman year. That was when her parents decided to move out to Morrison which is basically farm country. I met Cheryl at a church camp in MI the summer before Freshman year. We instantly became best friends. We remained friends all throughout high school. Then I went and had a baby and got married. She went to College and joined a Sorority. Our lives took two completely different paths and we lost contact for about 4 years.
One day I was missing her a LOT. If I remember correctly I had a dream and she was in it. At the time I had separated from my husband and had moved back into my parents home with two little kids in tow. So I googled her. I found three email addresses for her name. I sent an email to each address which said something like "I'm looking for a Cheryl who grew up in Glendale Heights, IL and then Morrison, IL. If this is you, Chippy Hick, I miss you. Please contact me." I got one email back that said "Sorry, but I'm not who you're looking for. Good luck to you." And I got another email back that said "IT'S ME! IT'S ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FOUND ME! I MISS YOU TOO! CALL ME!!!!!" I was so excited to have found her again. We reconnected and it was like we had never been apart.
She lives in Louisiana now with her husband, Kye, and her step-son, Mark. She travels a lot for work so anytime she comes this direction I try to go see her. She's not usually as close as she was this week though so it was nice to be able to go meet her for dinner as opposed to taking time off work and traveling 3 hours. Our dinner last night was great! We met at Gino's East and introduced Brandon to Chicago Style pizza. He was floored that the sauce was on top and the cheese on the bottom, but he did end up eating 3 pieces! Which is hard to do!
If you've never had Chicago Style pizza before its pretty simple. You have a really buttery crust that comes up the sides of the pan, not unlike a pie crust would do. You then have a layer of cheese. Then you have your toppings. We had the sausage. Patty form which is literally a layer of sausage instead of the crumbles of sausage you get on a regular pizza. Finally you have your sauce, which in a Chicago Style pizza is a chunky sauce which resembles a marinara sauce more than a tomato sauce. Do not confuse a stuffed pizza with a Chicago Style pizza! They are basically the same thing but a stuffed pizza is NOT a Chicago Style pizza. (The only difference with a stuffed pizza is a thin layer of dough between the toppings and the sauce.)
Oh my, did Cheryl and I talk about the old days! We told Brandon how we used to sneak out of her parents house to go to parties. What high school kid doesn't do that, right? When she had her drivers permit, we snuck her mom's car out to go joy riding around the block. Remember that she lived in farm country at the time. Her "block" was more like 4 suburban blocks long on each side. We nearly ended up in a ditch, almost ran over a guy on a snowmobile (did I mention that it was the dead of winter?) and she turned down a dead end road. To get out of that she decided to practice her 3-point turns. We backed over a baby Evergreen tree. Two years later we went to see that tree, and it was growing crooked.
Then there was "road trippin". Because she lived in the country there wasn't much to do. Their downtown area had a couple mom-n-pop stores and a Hardee's. The kids would all gather at Hardee's and then go off from there to ride around the country, smoke a bowl or a joint, and return to Hardee's only to get into another car and do it again. (Yes, as an adult I realize just how STUPID we were. I'm not condoning this behavior in any way, shape or form. I'm simply telling you what we used to do as kids. "Do as I say not as I do", right?!) During one of these trips I swear that I saw two bright lights streak across the road from a field on the right, up into the sky and disappear. Cheryl swears they were white birds. What white birds do you know of that fly at night?! They were alien lights, dammit!!
Finally we discussed Hurricane Katrina. Cheryl moved to Biloxi about 2 months before Katrina hit the golf. She'd told me she had weathered Hurricane Dennis which ended up only making it rain for several days. When Katrina was getting close, and Biloxi was evacuated, Cheryl called Kye (they weren't married at the time) worried. Kye told her "don't worry about it. A hurricane is nothing more than a little rain." To this day we both give Kye shit about Katrina being "a little rain". I remember seeing the news about Katrina and watching the path of it on the weather. I was so worried about Cheryl. I couldn't call her because cell service was out down there, so I called her mom. When I'd reconnected with Cheryl she'd already moved out of her parents house so I hadn't talked to her mom in years, but I didn't care. I knew that if anyone would know if she was ok it would be her parents. Her mom was great! She assured me that Cheryl had gotten out in time, was staying further inland at a friends house, and that she'd spoken to Cheryl just a few hours before.
There are so many more stories floating around in my brain but I'd be writing a book not a blog post, and this has gone on long enough!! We've known each other since we were 14 years old. Not including the 4 years we lost touch, we've known each other for nearly 20 years! It was fantastic to see her again. I don't get to see her all that often and I miss her so much!!
I met up with Cheryl and her boss, Brandon last night at Gino's East. Cheryl grew up in Glendale Heights until Freshman year. That was when her parents decided to move out to Morrison which is basically farm country. I met Cheryl at a church camp in MI the summer before Freshman year. We instantly became best friends. We remained friends all throughout high school. Then I went and had a baby and got married. She went to College and joined a Sorority. Our lives took two completely different paths and we lost contact for about 4 years.
One day I was missing her a LOT. If I remember correctly I had a dream and she was in it. At the time I had separated from my husband and had moved back into my parents home with two little kids in tow. So I googled her. I found three email addresses for her name. I sent an email to each address which said something like "I'm looking for a Cheryl who grew up in Glendale Heights, IL and then Morrison, IL. If this is you, Chippy Hick, I miss you. Please contact me." I got one email back that said "Sorry, but I'm not who you're looking for. Good luck to you." And I got another email back that said "IT'S ME! IT'S ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FOUND ME! I MISS YOU TOO! CALL ME!!!!!" I was so excited to have found her again. We reconnected and it was like we had never been apart.
She lives in Louisiana now with her husband, Kye, and her step-son, Mark. She travels a lot for work so anytime she comes this direction I try to go see her. She's not usually as close as she was this week though so it was nice to be able to go meet her for dinner as opposed to taking time off work and traveling 3 hours. Our dinner last night was great! We met at Gino's East and introduced Brandon to Chicago Style pizza. He was floored that the sauce was on top and the cheese on the bottom, but he did end up eating 3 pieces! Which is hard to do!
If you've never had Chicago Style pizza before its pretty simple. You have a really buttery crust that comes up the sides of the pan, not unlike a pie crust would do. You then have a layer of cheese. Then you have your toppings. We had the sausage. Patty form which is literally a layer of sausage instead of the crumbles of sausage you get on a regular pizza. Finally you have your sauce, which in a Chicago Style pizza is a chunky sauce which resembles a marinara sauce more than a tomato sauce. Do not confuse a stuffed pizza with a Chicago Style pizza! They are basically the same thing but a stuffed pizza is NOT a Chicago Style pizza. (The only difference with a stuffed pizza is a thin layer of dough between the toppings and the sauce.)
Oh my, did Cheryl and I talk about the old days! We told Brandon how we used to sneak out of her parents house to go to parties. What high school kid doesn't do that, right? When she had her drivers permit, we snuck her mom's car out to go joy riding around the block. Remember that she lived in farm country at the time. Her "block" was more like 4 suburban blocks long on each side. We nearly ended up in a ditch, almost ran over a guy on a snowmobile (did I mention that it was the dead of winter?) and she turned down a dead end road. To get out of that she decided to practice her 3-point turns. We backed over a baby Evergreen tree. Two years later we went to see that tree, and it was growing crooked.
Then there was "road trippin". Because she lived in the country there wasn't much to do. Their downtown area had a couple mom-n-pop stores and a Hardee's. The kids would all gather at Hardee's and then go off from there to ride around the country, smoke a bowl or a joint, and return to Hardee's only to get into another car and do it again. (Yes, as an adult I realize just how STUPID we were. I'm not condoning this behavior in any way, shape or form. I'm simply telling you what we used to do as kids. "Do as I say not as I do", right?!) During one of these trips I swear that I saw two bright lights streak across the road from a field on the right, up into the sky and disappear. Cheryl swears they were white birds. What white birds do you know of that fly at night?! They were alien lights, dammit!!
Finally we discussed Hurricane Katrina. Cheryl moved to Biloxi about 2 months before Katrina hit the golf. She'd told me she had weathered Hurricane Dennis which ended up only making it rain for several days. When Katrina was getting close, and Biloxi was evacuated, Cheryl called Kye (they weren't married at the time) worried. Kye told her "don't worry about it. A hurricane is nothing more than a little rain." To this day we both give Kye shit about Katrina being "a little rain". I remember seeing the news about Katrina and watching the path of it on the weather. I was so worried about Cheryl. I couldn't call her because cell service was out down there, so I called her mom. When I'd reconnected with Cheryl she'd already moved out of her parents house so I hadn't talked to her mom in years, but I didn't care. I knew that if anyone would know if she was ok it would be her parents. Her mom was great! She assured me that Cheryl had gotten out in time, was staying further inland at a friends house, and that she'd spoken to Cheryl just a few hours before.
There are so many more stories floating around in my brain but I'd be writing a book not a blog post, and this has gone on long enough!! We've known each other since we were 14 years old. Not including the 4 years we lost touch, we've known each other for nearly 20 years! It was fantastic to see her again. I don't get to see her all that often and I miss her so much!!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
School Has Started!!
I cannot express how thankful I am that school has started again. Back to a schedule. Back to knowing exactly where my children are at any given time... Well, between 7:00 am and 2:45 pm at least. My mother used to tell us that the only birthday present we needed to give her (her birthday is August 28th) was to go back to school. I remember, as a kid, I used to think that was horrible of her to say. As a mother now myself - I couldn't agree more.
The girls got up this morning without issue. I didn't really expect an issue today but tomorrow may be an entirely different story! L usually gets up easily. Even as a baby all I'd have to do is turn on her light and she'd be up. K is a different story all together. There have been more days than I can count that I've actually had to pull the mattress out from underneath her. If you've never done that to a sleeping person, let me be the first to tell you that they don't appreciate the strength it takes.
Ok. SERIOUSLY?! I just got off the phone with K. She irritates me to no end when I'm at work and apparently school starting isn't going to stop this annoying habit. She called me after their half day was over today to see if she could go home with her friend, Chloe. I told K I'd pick her up on the way home from work. K called a little later to tell me that Chloe's mom would bring her home at 5 because Chloe has cheerleading practice tonight. K just called to see if she could come home at 7:30. When I said no she asked if she could come home at 8:30. WTF?!?! (Didn't I just post about her negotiating her way out of something good?) Again I told her no. OK. Maybe what I actually said was "NO". By this time I'm thinking that Chloe's mom can't drive K home after all, so I told K that if Chloe's mom can't drive her home before Chloe's cheerleading then I'd pick her up. K told me that Chloe wasn't going to be going to cheerleading and can she stay until 7:30?
I think there's something wrong with my kids. Really, I do. It doesn't matter what I say to them, unless there's something in it for them, they don't listen. They have no idea what I'm saying to them. I wonder if I start talking in Swahili if they'd understand. I think I may just start not listening to them. They tell me that they need lunch things and I'll hear "buy yourself new shoes". They'll tell me that they need me to sign a permission slip to go on a field trip and I'll hear "make a cake".
OR, and this really would be the friggin BEST ever, I could start calling them every hour on the hour to ask some insanely ridiculous question about the dog or soccer practice or gymnastics or Opa's colon. And the plus side of that would be the possibility of their phone getting taken away by the principle! Then I wouldn't have to listen to them whine that their battery died and they can't text so-and-so, and ohmygodtheworldisgoingtoend!!! Or I could just limit their cell phone usage. Ha! That was a funny thought for a minute!! The few times I've tried to punish that way it's backfired on me. They get so annoying that I give them the phone back in two days rather than four days.
Now I'm off to see Cheryl. My oldest and dearest friend! She lives in Louisiana and works for a gaming company. She's been in WI this week until tonight and I'm going to go meet her for pizza and beer!! YUM! I can't wait to see my Chippy Hick!
The girls got up this morning without issue. I didn't really expect an issue today but tomorrow may be an entirely different story! L usually gets up easily. Even as a baby all I'd have to do is turn on her light and she'd be up. K is a different story all together. There have been more days than I can count that I've actually had to pull the mattress out from underneath her. If you've never done that to a sleeping person, let me be the first to tell you that they don't appreciate the strength it takes.
Ok. SERIOUSLY?! I just got off the phone with K. She irritates me to no end when I'm at work and apparently school starting isn't going to stop this annoying habit. She called me after their half day was over today to see if she could go home with her friend, Chloe. I told K I'd pick her up on the way home from work. K called a little later to tell me that Chloe's mom would bring her home at 5 because Chloe has cheerleading practice tonight. K just called to see if she could come home at 7:30. When I said no she asked if she could come home at 8:30. WTF?!?! (Didn't I just post about her negotiating her way out of something good?) Again I told her no. OK. Maybe what I actually said was "NO". By this time I'm thinking that Chloe's mom can't drive K home after all, so I told K that if Chloe's mom can't drive her home before Chloe's cheerleading then I'd pick her up. K told me that Chloe wasn't going to be going to cheerleading and can she stay until 7:30?
I think there's something wrong with my kids. Really, I do. It doesn't matter what I say to them, unless there's something in it for them, they don't listen. They have no idea what I'm saying to them. I wonder if I start talking in Swahili if they'd understand. I think I may just start not listening to them. They tell me that they need lunch things and I'll hear "buy yourself new shoes". They'll tell me that they need me to sign a permission slip to go on a field trip and I'll hear "make a cake".
OR, and this really would be the friggin BEST ever, I could start calling them every hour on the hour to ask some insanely ridiculous question about the dog or soccer practice or gymnastics or Opa's colon. And the plus side of that would be the possibility of their phone getting taken away by the principle! Then I wouldn't have to listen to them whine that their battery died and they can't text so-and-so, and ohmygodtheworldisgoingtoend!!! Or I could just limit their cell phone usage. Ha! That was a funny thought for a minute!! The few times I've tried to punish that way it's backfired on me. They get so annoying that I give them the phone back in two days rather than four days.
Now I'm off to see Cheryl. My oldest and dearest friend! She lives in Louisiana and works for a gaming company. She's been in WI this week until tonight and I'm going to go meet her for pizza and beer!! YUM! I can't wait to see my Chippy Hick!
Monday, August 23, 2010
THAT Kid
K has become That Kid. You know the one. That neighborhood kid who somehow wrangles him/herself into parties that they weren't invited to. That Kid who will come to your house and beat around the bush asking for food. Yup. K has officially become That Kid.
K has always had a way of getting what she wants. Regardless of what it is. My father taught her at a young age to negotiate. Thanks, Dad. She's so into negotiating what she wants that she will sometimes talk herself out of something good. For example, K wanted some spending money. She was smart enough not to ask me (I'm so broke it's not even funny) so she decided to ask my Dad if there was anything she could do in his yard for some money. He decided she could do some weeding and he'd pay her $3. She said she'd do it for $5. My Dad said $2. K said $10 and my Dad said never mind. Most of the time she's smart enough to negotiate what she wants but occasionally she'll negotiate herself out of something. K's negotiating can, and does, get under my skin more often than not. When I tell her she has to do the dishes/take out the trash/pick up dog poop, whatever it is, she thinks it's up for negotiation. "I'll do it if I can..." It's gotten to the point where I have to tell her "It's not up for negotiation"
However, she called me this morning and asked if she could go with Gabriella to Chris's birthday party at Monkey Land (It's some sort of Chuck E. Cheese type place). I ended up telling her yes, but before I gave her the answer I had to ask her how she came about getting invited to this party. I sure never saw an invitation, nor did K ever tell me about it until she called me. Before I told her she could go I was sure that Gabriella had been invited and either 1 - K had asked if she could go with or 2 - Gabriella said "you can come, too" or something like that. K insisted that Chris and his mother invited her. It still sounds fishy. Why would a kid be verbally invited to a party like that at the last minute. Hence my belief that K has become That Kid.
It could all be very innocent. K could have been playing in the neighborhood and the mother didn't want her to be left out, or the kid could have begged his mother to let K go also, but I know my daughter. I'd bet dollars to donuts that she somehow invited herself.
Jessie and I were talking about this just last night. We were at Justin and Jessie's house yesterday afternoon to go swimming and have dinner with them. After dinner their girls and K went downstairs to play. After a while one of their girls came up and asked Jessie if they could have dessert. Jessie said she didn't think so, not tonight. Madie went right over to K and whispered in K's ear. Then they all went downstairs again. Jessie and I just looked at each other and laughed a little. About 30 minutes later Jessie and I were inspecting the cleaning job the kids had done in the basement, and again Madie asked Jessie if they could have something for dessert. Again Jessie said, "Not tonight". Again Madie went over to K and whispered to her. At this point I'm getting kind of upset with K because that's just rude. About 30 minutes after that Madie asks Jessie if they can have a cookie. This time I interjected and told Madie that she should talk to her mom after we leave. I told her we were going to be leaving shortly and they (the kids) needed to finish cleaning.
Jessie knew why I did what I did and told me about a time K was at their house during an afternoon. Jessie had gone downstairs to fix her iPod. K came down a little later talking about some new snack that is in the grocery store. Jessie told me that she'd just gone to the grocery store that morning and this snack K was talking about was in their snack cupboard. Jessie said she called K out on it by asking her "Were you looking above my microwave? I have that snack for Andrew." K, of course, tried to play off being innocent, but she sucks at that. You can tell by her body language that she's faking.
I know all kids do this, but I've always thought that she'd outgrow it. You know, once she realized it's rude. Apparently K hasn't realized it, no matter how many times I talk to her about the different ways people are rude, she still manages to be That Kid.
K has always had a way of getting what she wants. Regardless of what it is. My father taught her at a young age to negotiate. Thanks, Dad. She's so into negotiating what she wants that she will sometimes talk herself out of something good. For example, K wanted some spending money. She was smart enough not to ask me (I'm so broke it's not even funny) so she decided to ask my Dad if there was anything she could do in his yard for some money. He decided she could do some weeding and he'd pay her $3. She said she'd do it for $5. My Dad said $2. K said $10 and my Dad said never mind. Most of the time she's smart enough to negotiate what she wants but occasionally she'll negotiate herself out of something. K's negotiating can, and does, get under my skin more often than not. When I tell her she has to do the dishes/take out the trash/pick up dog poop, whatever it is, she thinks it's up for negotiation. "I'll do it if I can..." It's gotten to the point where I have to tell her "It's not up for negotiation"
However, she called me this morning and asked if she could go with Gabriella to Chris's birthday party at Monkey Land (It's some sort of Chuck E. Cheese type place). I ended up telling her yes, but before I gave her the answer I had to ask her how she came about getting invited to this party. I sure never saw an invitation, nor did K ever tell me about it until she called me. Before I told her she could go I was sure that Gabriella had been invited and either 1 - K had asked if she could go with or 2 - Gabriella said "you can come, too" or something like that. K insisted that Chris and his mother invited her. It still sounds fishy. Why would a kid be verbally invited to a party like that at the last minute. Hence my belief that K has become That Kid.
It could all be very innocent. K could have been playing in the neighborhood and the mother didn't want her to be left out, or the kid could have begged his mother to let K go also, but I know my daughter. I'd bet dollars to donuts that she somehow invited herself.
Jessie and I were talking about this just last night. We were at Justin and Jessie's house yesterday afternoon to go swimming and have dinner with them. After dinner their girls and K went downstairs to play. After a while one of their girls came up and asked Jessie if they could have dessert. Jessie said she didn't think so, not tonight. Madie went right over to K and whispered in K's ear. Then they all went downstairs again. Jessie and I just looked at each other and laughed a little. About 30 minutes later Jessie and I were inspecting the cleaning job the kids had done in the basement, and again Madie asked Jessie if they could have something for dessert. Again Jessie said, "Not tonight". Again Madie went over to K and whispered to her. At this point I'm getting kind of upset with K because that's just rude. About 30 minutes after that Madie asks Jessie if they can have a cookie. This time I interjected and told Madie that she should talk to her mom after we leave. I told her we were going to be leaving shortly and they (the kids) needed to finish cleaning.
Jessie knew why I did what I did and told me about a time K was at their house during an afternoon. Jessie had gone downstairs to fix her iPod. K came down a little later talking about some new snack that is in the grocery store. Jessie told me that she'd just gone to the grocery store that morning and this snack K was talking about was in their snack cupboard. Jessie said she called K out on it by asking her "Were you looking above my microwave? I have that snack for Andrew." K, of course, tried to play off being innocent, but she sucks at that. You can tell by her body language that she's faking.
I know all kids do this, but I've always thought that she'd outgrow it. You know, once she realized it's rude. Apparently K hasn't realized it, no matter how many times I talk to her about the different ways people are rude, she still manages to be That Kid.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ambien Dreams
I have so much on my mind today. I've come to find out that if I don't write what's on my mind and post it right away then I either forget what was so important about what I was thinking, or I'll re-read it and it'll seem just dumb to me. So here I go (please be patient with me).
I have difficulty getting to sleep. I've always been like this. When I was in my early 20's and I was going back to school this worked out great for me. I'd work my full time job, my part time job, raise two kids on my own, go to school at nights and I was able to stay up until 2 am doing my homework and still get up in the morning to go to work. Now it doesn't work out so well for me anymore. I don't know if its because I'm older now and need more sleep, or if all the years of minimal sleep have caught up to me, but I still stay up until 2 am and get up at 6 am to get ready for work BUT now I'm dead tired all day long. I could easily go home at 5 pm, go to bed and be out cold until 6 am. In fact, I think that would be ideal. However, I can't do this. I have to go home, make dinner, clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry, read with K, etc. By the time I can go to bed at 9 pm I've got my second wind and I'm up until 2 am. It's a vicious cycle and it's beginning to wear me down.
So I talked to my doctor and she prescribed Trazedone for me. ( I know I'm never going to spell that right so I relied on sounding it out.) That drug was originally used as an anti-depressant but didn't work for those symptoms. They did realize that it worked great as a sleep aid. Not for me though. Oh, it knocked me out all right but it took me half the day the next day to come out of my drug induced slumber. She has now prescribed me Ambien. I love this drug. It puts me to sleep gently, I get up with my alarm in the morning and I'm not half asleep for half the day.
Last night I took my pill like usual and was asleep by 10:30 (woo hoo!). I was woken up at 12:45 am to knocking on my bedroom door. I wasn't really awake; just kind of... not sleeping sort of. The knock was from K, L and L's friend, Becca. Apparently K's legs were hurting her (she's suffered from growing pain type discomfort occasionally in the evenings her entire life) so L told her to take the pill that was in the Alieve bottle. The problem is that I don't know what was in the Alieve bottle, but it wasn't Alieve. K was then freaked out that she took something "bad" and was then all in a tither that the veins in her arm were hurting because of this pill. I remember telling her not to worry about it; that it was just prescription strength Advil.
As this conversation was coming back to me this morning in bits and pieces I realized that the prescription strength Advil (800 mg) was in the kitchen and the Alieve bottle from which she got this pill was in the bathroom. If I'm remembering correctly the pill in the Alieve bottle was vicodin. K was tripping out on Vicodin!! This worries me. A lot. It worries me because their SFB (That's what I call their father - Shit For Brains) is an addict. After we got divorced he got messed up big time on Meth and other drugs. I know addiction is hereditary. I'm starting to freak out now that K is going to think back to her Vicodin trip, like it, and want to score more. She's going into the 8th grade, and it's not as hard for kids her age to get drugs as it would have been for me at that age.
Of course I've had the Drug Conversation with both of my kids, and they know what their SFB went through (he did a stint in jail for 8 months for being busted in a rolling meth lab). I've always known that the girls are going to try drugs at some point, I think all kids do, but I've really believed that L will be the one who won't like it and K will be my problem. I just never thought that K would be my problem at 13 yrs old. Tonight I'll have to have that conversation with K again. I mean, really?! She's 13 yrs old! She should know better than to take random pills laying around! What was she thinking?! She knows what the Advil bottle and pills look like. She knows what the Generic Tylenol bottle and pills look like. Why would she open a bottle and just swallow the pill?!
I'm freaking myself out now, but I'm freaking myself out even more because I wasn't completely awake when she woke me up at 12:45 am. I had taken a pill that made me sleep but didn't allow me to fully wake up when needed. I should have asked her more questions about the pill she took, what it looked like and exactly why she took it. I didn't even remember that I'd had this conversation until I was in the shower this morning. What kind of parenting is that?!
I have difficulty getting to sleep. I've always been like this. When I was in my early 20's and I was going back to school this worked out great for me. I'd work my full time job, my part time job, raise two kids on my own, go to school at nights and I was able to stay up until 2 am doing my homework and still get up in the morning to go to work. Now it doesn't work out so well for me anymore. I don't know if its because I'm older now and need more sleep, or if all the years of minimal sleep have caught up to me, but I still stay up until 2 am and get up at 6 am to get ready for work BUT now I'm dead tired all day long. I could easily go home at 5 pm, go to bed and be out cold until 6 am. In fact, I think that would be ideal. However, I can't do this. I have to go home, make dinner, clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry, read with K, etc. By the time I can go to bed at 9 pm I've got my second wind and I'm up until 2 am. It's a vicious cycle and it's beginning to wear me down.
So I talked to my doctor and she prescribed Trazedone for me. ( I know I'm never going to spell that right so I relied on sounding it out.) That drug was originally used as an anti-depressant but didn't work for those symptoms. They did realize that it worked great as a sleep aid. Not for me though. Oh, it knocked me out all right but it took me half the day the next day to come out of my drug induced slumber. She has now prescribed me Ambien. I love this drug. It puts me to sleep gently, I get up with my alarm in the morning and I'm not half asleep for half the day.
Last night I took my pill like usual and was asleep by 10:30 (woo hoo!). I was woken up at 12:45 am to knocking on my bedroom door. I wasn't really awake; just kind of... not sleeping sort of. The knock was from K, L and L's friend, Becca. Apparently K's legs were hurting her (she's suffered from growing pain type discomfort occasionally in the evenings her entire life) so L told her to take the pill that was in the Alieve bottle. The problem is that I don't know what was in the Alieve bottle, but it wasn't Alieve. K was then freaked out that she took something "bad" and was then all in a tither that the veins in her arm were hurting because of this pill. I remember telling her not to worry about it; that it was just prescription strength Advil.
As this conversation was coming back to me this morning in bits and pieces I realized that the prescription strength Advil (800 mg) was in the kitchen and the Alieve bottle from which she got this pill was in the bathroom. If I'm remembering correctly the pill in the Alieve bottle was vicodin. K was tripping out on Vicodin!! This worries me. A lot. It worries me because their SFB (That's what I call their father - Shit For Brains) is an addict. After we got divorced he got messed up big time on Meth and other drugs. I know addiction is hereditary. I'm starting to freak out now that K is going to think back to her Vicodin trip, like it, and want to score more. She's going into the 8th grade, and it's not as hard for kids her age to get drugs as it would have been for me at that age.
Of course I've had the Drug Conversation with both of my kids, and they know what their SFB went through (he did a stint in jail for 8 months for being busted in a rolling meth lab). I've always known that the girls are going to try drugs at some point, I think all kids do, but I've really believed that L will be the one who won't like it and K will be my problem. I just never thought that K would be my problem at 13 yrs old. Tonight I'll have to have that conversation with K again. I mean, really?! She's 13 yrs old! She should know better than to take random pills laying around! What was she thinking?! She knows what the Advil bottle and pills look like. She knows what the Generic Tylenol bottle and pills look like. Why would she open a bottle and just swallow the pill?!
I'm freaking myself out now, but I'm freaking myself out even more because I wasn't completely awake when she woke me up at 12:45 am. I had taken a pill that made me sleep but didn't allow me to fully wake up when needed. I should have asked her more questions about the pill she took, what it looked like and exactly why she took it. I didn't even remember that I'd had this conversation until I was in the shower this morning. What kind of parenting is that?!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Done
I'm fucking done. I'm done with my job. I'm tired of being in this position. I'm tired of being the last to be able to do ANYTHING. Yea, I get it. I'm the "secretary" and therefore I'm no one, but I'm fucking done. Take today for example.
Craig asked me to look up some cut sheets on some hardware he's getting pricing on. Of course he says "if you have time" which is a bunch of bullshit. I'm in the middle of organizing 15 + years of files that have just been crammed into various file cabinets. I've been working on this for 4 days. I'm only 1/2 way through, if that. The hardware he wanted me to look up was 3 pages of hardware. Of course, I have to say "Sure!" Like I'm oh so thrilled to be looking up hardware cut sheets.
It took me 2 hours to look up the hardware. Know why? Because I have no idea what I'm looking up! Yes, I know what a closer is. I know what a rim cylinder is. I know what a push/pull bar is. What I don't know is what the difference is between a 4011 and a 4010 closer. I was looking at these different closers and I had no idea which one he needed. I did the best I could. I printed out what I could clearly tell was what he was looking for and marked the ones I couldn't find. Guess what? I got "talked to" about paying attention to what I was doing. Apparently I printed the same cut sheet three times. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT A 4011 AND A 4010 CLOSER ARE "THE SAME THING"?! He forgets that I don't have anything to do with that part of this company. I don't deal with those things everyday. I'm a "Secretary" and that's all.
I'm also sick of not eating lunch. 11:30 am is too early for me to eat. I'm not hungry then. Noon is ideal, but I'm always the last allowed to eat. Sorry, but 1:30 is too late for me to eat! If I eat lunch at 1:30 I'm not hungry for dinner, yet I still have to make it for those in my house who are hungry for dinner. Ron leaves at Noon and even though we're only allowed a 30 minute lunch, he manages to always have an hour lunch. Craig leaves whenever he wants and bitches about "I was at a jobsite this morning at 5:30 am. I need to eat lunch." Waaahh. I call BULLSHIT! H tells me all the time about how he always picks up McDonald's on the way back to the office and eats in his car. He expects me to believe that if he WAS at a jobsite at 5:30 this morning, which I don't believe for a minute, that he didn't stop and get something to eat? Again - bullshit.
And I know he wasn't at the jobsite at 5:30 this morning. He was there at 7. I know this because Brian was in the office yesterday picking up checks and a laser that Craig borrowed from him last week. Before Brian left he said something to Craig about meeting at the jobsite at 7 am today, and jokingly asked Craig if he wanted a wake up call. That's because Craig is always late to meetings that early in the morning. Because Craig never shows up before 8:30 in the office (we start the day at 8 am) it's a running joke that Craig is still sleeping at 8. When he has "meetings" in the middle of the day we all joke that if you called him on his cell, you'd hear Katelin or his dog in the background. Yet I can't say anything because Craig can do no wrong as far as the boss is concerned.
I guess I'm just pissed today that I've been trying to organize all this stuff in the office, I'm printing info for Craig (which is really part of his job), trying to fix the fax machine, printing 348 pages of info from a CD, and I just want to go get lunch, but I can't. I don't even stay out 30 minutes. I get a sandwich from the 7-11 around the corner and bring it back to the office. I then eat at my desk while I'll answer phones, type out PO's, file "urgent" stuff... I don't really "take a lunch" and the fact that on days when I'm hungry and just want to go grab something to eat - I have to wait. Because I'm the last on the list for everything.
As I type this, Ron has been out of the office on "lunch" for 45 minutes, and Craig has been gone 30. I'm locking the doors and going to get lunch.
Craig asked me to look up some cut sheets on some hardware he's getting pricing on. Of course he says "if you have time" which is a bunch of bullshit. I'm in the middle of organizing 15 + years of files that have just been crammed into various file cabinets. I've been working on this for 4 days. I'm only 1/2 way through, if that. The hardware he wanted me to look up was 3 pages of hardware. Of course, I have to say "Sure!" Like I'm oh so thrilled to be looking up hardware cut sheets.
It took me 2 hours to look up the hardware. Know why? Because I have no idea what I'm looking up! Yes, I know what a closer is. I know what a rim cylinder is. I know what a push/pull bar is. What I don't know is what the difference is between a 4011 and a 4010 closer. I was looking at these different closers and I had no idea which one he needed. I did the best I could. I printed out what I could clearly tell was what he was looking for and marked the ones I couldn't find. Guess what? I got "talked to" about paying attention to what I was doing. Apparently I printed the same cut sheet three times. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT A 4011 AND A 4010 CLOSER ARE "THE SAME THING"?! He forgets that I don't have anything to do with that part of this company. I don't deal with those things everyday. I'm a "Secretary" and that's all.
I'm also sick of not eating lunch. 11:30 am is too early for me to eat. I'm not hungry then. Noon is ideal, but I'm always the last allowed to eat. Sorry, but 1:30 is too late for me to eat! If I eat lunch at 1:30 I'm not hungry for dinner, yet I still have to make it for those in my house who are hungry for dinner. Ron leaves at Noon and even though we're only allowed a 30 minute lunch, he manages to always have an hour lunch. Craig leaves whenever he wants and bitches about "I was at a jobsite this morning at 5:30 am. I need to eat lunch." Waaahh. I call BULLSHIT! H tells me all the time about how he always picks up McDonald's on the way back to the office and eats in his car. He expects me to believe that if he WAS at a jobsite at 5:30 this morning, which I don't believe for a minute, that he didn't stop and get something to eat? Again - bullshit.
And I know he wasn't at the jobsite at 5:30 this morning. He was there at 7. I know this because Brian was in the office yesterday picking up checks and a laser that Craig borrowed from him last week. Before Brian left he said something to Craig about meeting at the jobsite at 7 am today, and jokingly asked Craig if he wanted a wake up call. That's because Craig is always late to meetings that early in the morning. Because Craig never shows up before 8:30 in the office (we start the day at 8 am) it's a running joke that Craig is still sleeping at 8. When he has "meetings" in the middle of the day we all joke that if you called him on his cell, you'd hear Katelin or his dog in the background. Yet I can't say anything because Craig can do no wrong as far as the boss is concerned.
I guess I'm just pissed today that I've been trying to organize all this stuff in the office, I'm printing info for Craig (which is really part of his job), trying to fix the fax machine, printing 348 pages of info from a CD, and I just want to go get lunch, but I can't. I don't even stay out 30 minutes. I get a sandwich from the 7-11 around the corner and bring it back to the office. I then eat at my desk while I'll answer phones, type out PO's, file "urgent" stuff... I don't really "take a lunch" and the fact that on days when I'm hungry and just want to go grab something to eat - I have to wait. Because I'm the last on the list for everything.
As I type this, Ron has been out of the office on "lunch" for 45 minutes, and Craig has been gone 30. I'm locking the doors and going to get lunch.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
I've Been Un-Invited... To A 4-Year Old's Birthday Party.
We've all had that conversation with a pre-school aged kid. They get mad at you and the worst thing they can think to yell at you is "Well! You're not coming to MY birthday party!!" My typical response to my daughters telling me this was always "Fine. I'm not THROWING you a birthday party then." That always made them pause and think about just how far they're willing to put their party in jeopardy.
It happened again yesterday to me. No. My daughters didn't uninvite me to their birthday party. I got uninvited to Katelin's 4th Birthday Party on Saturday. By her father. I'm sorry, but I have to share the humor in this. In the last five weeks I've been invited to four events for Saturday, August 7th. That doesn't happen often. OK, that doesn't happen ever! The first party I was invited to is a Lia Sophia party at my friend, Abbey's. Lia Sophia is expensive costume jewelry that I'll NEVER buy but I love parties like that so I told Abbey I'd go. The second party is a Baby Shower for my friend, Melda, who's having a little boy in about 6 weeks (give or take). Unfortunately, I got invited to that party after I'd already accepted the invite to Abbey's party. So, I'll take a gift over to my friend's house, Melissa, who is going to the Shower and I'll have her take it with her so Melda gets a gift from me anyway. The third party I was invited to was another Drag Queen event by my brother. Again, I had to decline even though I think it would be SUPER fun to go to another show of his!
Finally, I've been invited to Katelin's 4th Birthday Party. This is the Katelin who won't even look at me much less talk to me. She doesn't like me. I don't know why, and at this point (I know this is going to sound really badly of me) after four years of her flat out ignoring me, I don't care. The thing is Craig and Beth only gave us an invite to Katelin's party a week ago. After they had seen the Baby Shower and the Lia Sophia party invites on my refrigerator. We had discussed this at our poker tournament a few weeks ago. I told them that I'd be late to Katelin's party because of the Lia Sophia party. I'd already committed to going to Abbey's house. It's rude to accept an invitation and then not go. And I've found out that Abbey needs a minimum number of people to show up or the Party Lady won't even do the party. If I don't go then Abbey doesn't have her minimum.
Craig asked me yesterday who was coming to their house for the party so they could figure out food. I told him to count L out (she's 15 and has no desire to attend a 4 year old's party), and that K might not be there as they might be going to their Aunt's house. I then told him that M would be there after the bowling portion and that I'd be there about 5 pm. Beth and Craig ALWAYS have a party for Katelin, and then after family goes home their friends stay and they have a bonfire or just sit around and talk. Apparently, not this year. When I told Craig when I'd be there he just looked at me for a moment then walked away mumbling something about food being wasted. You know that look your teacher would give you after you disrupted the class, or your mother would give you after you told her why you were outside spraying your brother with a garden hose while he was tied to the tree? (Long story, but he deserved it.) Yea. That look.
I tried to explain to him why I was going to Abbey's party first so he'd understand, and do you know what he said to me?! "You might as well not bother to come then. Everyone will be gone by then anyway. Enjoy your jewelry party." WHAT THE FUCK!?! Seriously? The way he said it was so sarcastic, too. He acted like a spoiled little brat being told that he can't go swimming in the middle of winter.
Honestly, why would I even want to go to the kiddie portion of Katelin's party anyway? #1 - She's FOUR. She's never going to remember that I wasn't there. #2 - As I said earlier, she doesn't even like me. She's not going to care that I'm not there. #3 - Why would I even want to attend a party where the guest of honor won't even look at me, much less return a greeting which is the ONLY thing I'd bother trying to say to her anyway since she won't talk to me and her parent's don't force her to reply to greetings anyway?!
You didn't read that wrong. They allow her to be rude. I get that she doesn't like me. I get that she's bashful around many people, but I think that allowing your child to bury her head in your legs and to ignore your basic greeting is teaching her to be rude. I'll go up to Beth or Craig and greet them. Katelin will be right by them. She'll see me and turn around to bury her face in their legs. I'll say, "Hi, Katie." She'll ignore me and Beth/Craig will just look at me like "Oh well. Whatta ya gonna do?" I'll tell ya what you SHOULD do! You SHOULD make your child at least acknowledge the fact that someone has greeted her. You SHOULD tell your child to say hello. I'm not asking her to carry on a conversation with me, I'm asking her to acknowledge my presence, and to think it's acceptable that she refuses to do so AND you allow her to ignore someone is teaching her to be RUDE.
So I was uninvited to a 4-Year Old's birthday party. And to tell you the truth - I could care less.
It happened again yesterday to me. No. My daughters didn't uninvite me to their birthday party. I got uninvited to Katelin's 4th Birthday Party on Saturday. By her father. I'm sorry, but I have to share the humor in this. In the last five weeks I've been invited to four events for Saturday, August 7th. That doesn't happen often. OK, that doesn't happen ever! The first party I was invited to is a Lia Sophia party at my friend, Abbey's. Lia Sophia is expensive costume jewelry that I'll NEVER buy but I love parties like that so I told Abbey I'd go. The second party is a Baby Shower for my friend, Melda, who's having a little boy in about 6 weeks (give or take). Unfortunately, I got invited to that party after I'd already accepted the invite to Abbey's party. So, I'll take a gift over to my friend's house, Melissa, who is going to the Shower and I'll have her take it with her so Melda gets a gift from me anyway. The third party I was invited to was another Drag Queen event by my brother. Again, I had to decline even though I think it would be SUPER fun to go to another show of his!
Finally, I've been invited to Katelin's 4th Birthday Party. This is the Katelin who won't even look at me much less talk to me. She doesn't like me. I don't know why, and at this point (I know this is going to sound really badly of me) after four years of her flat out ignoring me, I don't care. The thing is Craig and Beth only gave us an invite to Katelin's party a week ago. After they had seen the Baby Shower and the Lia Sophia party invites on my refrigerator. We had discussed this at our poker tournament a few weeks ago. I told them that I'd be late to Katelin's party because of the Lia Sophia party. I'd already committed to going to Abbey's house. It's rude to accept an invitation and then not go. And I've found out that Abbey needs a minimum number of people to show up or the Party Lady won't even do the party. If I don't go then Abbey doesn't have her minimum.
Craig asked me yesterday who was coming to their house for the party so they could figure out food. I told him to count L out (she's 15 and has no desire to attend a 4 year old's party), and that K might not be there as they might be going to their Aunt's house. I then told him that M would be there after the bowling portion and that I'd be there about 5 pm. Beth and Craig ALWAYS have a party for Katelin, and then after family goes home their friends stay and they have a bonfire or just sit around and talk. Apparently, not this year. When I told Craig when I'd be there he just looked at me for a moment then walked away mumbling something about food being wasted. You know that look your teacher would give you after you disrupted the class, or your mother would give you after you told her why you were outside spraying your brother with a garden hose while he was tied to the tree? (Long story, but he deserved it.) Yea. That look.
I tried to explain to him why I was going to Abbey's party first so he'd understand, and do you know what he said to me?! "You might as well not bother to come then. Everyone will be gone by then anyway. Enjoy your jewelry party." WHAT THE FUCK!?! Seriously? The way he said it was so sarcastic, too. He acted like a spoiled little brat being told that he can't go swimming in the middle of winter.
Honestly, why would I even want to go to the kiddie portion of Katelin's party anyway? #1 - She's FOUR. She's never going to remember that I wasn't there. #2 - As I said earlier, she doesn't even like me. She's not going to care that I'm not there. #3 - Why would I even want to attend a party where the guest of honor won't even look at me, much less return a greeting which is the ONLY thing I'd bother trying to say to her anyway since she won't talk to me and her parent's don't force her to reply to greetings anyway?!
You didn't read that wrong. They allow her to be rude. I get that she doesn't like me. I get that she's bashful around many people, but I think that allowing your child to bury her head in your legs and to ignore your basic greeting is teaching her to be rude. I'll go up to Beth or Craig and greet them. Katelin will be right by them. She'll see me and turn around to bury her face in their legs. I'll say, "Hi, Katie." She'll ignore me and Beth/Craig will just look at me like "Oh well. Whatta ya gonna do?" I'll tell ya what you SHOULD do! You SHOULD make your child at least acknowledge the fact that someone has greeted her. You SHOULD tell your child to say hello. I'm not asking her to carry on a conversation with me, I'm asking her to acknowledge my presence, and to think it's acceptable that she refuses to do so AND you allow her to ignore someone is teaching her to be RUDE.
So I was uninvited to a 4-Year Old's birthday party. And to tell you the truth - I could care less.
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