One Tired Momma

Last nite I started working third shift. I do bulk foods every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and it occurred to me awhile back that maybe it didn't matter when I got my work done (because this is a one person job) as long as it just got done. So I tossed out the idea to my boss for me to come in at 10 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. My reasoning is that I'll have the evenings with the kids and Tom can focus on his schoolwork. (Hopefully) I'll be able to establish a consistent bedtime routine and have them snugly tucked into bed and snoozing before I head to work. I miss out on sleep, but they're not missing out on "mommy time". Plus, Austin is starting school in 2 weeks and I have got to get him on an earlier to bed/ earlier to rise sleep schedule.

My biggest worry is getting up to 3 kids (and having to get one to school on time) after only getting 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I'm a nite owl and really don't start to feel like I'm fully functioning until about 10am and 2 cups of coffee. To reassure myself that 2 late nites a week is really no big deal I keep telling myself that sleep is highly overrated. We'll see if this bit of psychology really works.

So last nite was my first try and I really liked it. Audrey spent the nite with her cousin Katy at grandma h's so having only 2 to put down helped ease the transition some. I figured I needed to start bedtime by 7:15 to have them ready for lights out by 9. We did bathtime, jammies, snacks, teeth brushing, and books and I put them to bed. That gave me a half hour to clean up the kitchen and the living room so my house was ready for the next day, too- bonus!!! The only negative was that the kids weren't sleeping before I left but I think within a couple of weeks they'll get used to the earlier bedtime and start nodding off sooner. It was funny because I hadn't told the kids about my new schedule so when I went in to tell Austin goodnite and I was dressed in my uniform, he was a bit confused.

AJ: are you gonna sleep in that?

me: no, I'm going to work.

AJ: are you going to sleep at work?

me: no, I'm going to work at work. I'm going to work while you're sleeping and I'll be home before you wake up in the morning.

AJ: oh, so you're going to be nocturnal. (He loves using that word.)

I headed off to work, but not before stopping to get my caffeine fix at McD's. I was a little unsure about working 3rd because I see the people on that shift punching in as I'm usually punching out. It takes a "special" person to work this shift and, let me tell you, the group I see isn't exactly the friendliest bunch. I needn't have worried. There is no 3rd shift for produce/bakery/deli so I was the only soul around. Every once in a while I'd see a straggling shopper go thru. I assisted one customer at the beginning of the nite and then worked completely uninterrupted. I felt like I got a lot accomplished and it was nice to have a renewed focus on my tasks. Hah!- listen to me talk like stocking bulk food bins is a highly important job!

Austin and Lexi both woke up around 8:45 and I conned them in to letting me have another 15 minutes before I had to get up. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to do and I'm looking forward to doing it again on Thursday nite. I'm sure I'm in the honeymoon phase but hopefully by the time the love wears thin it'll be a habit I've adjusted to.

The rest of the day went well but then I gave in to temptation and invited Cinderella to babysit the girls while Austin played cars. With their attention diverted, I crashed on the living room floor and woke up to find both Lexi and Audrey snoozing. That is the biggest no-no in Hosmerville right now: do NOT let the girls take a nap because if you do you will pay for it in the form of an overly long, drawn out, I'm-not-tired-so-I-can't-fall-asleep marathon bedtime. Next time I'll remind myself that sleep is overrated but the refreshing nap was worth the later/longer bedtime tonite.

Signs Of Fall

Forget that the stores have been promoting back-to-school sales since the end of July or that there are a few trees in our neighborhood starting to change colors. The true sign that fall is coming can be found in the dairy case at Meijer... pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer. Yum! Can't wait to get me some of that!

Hosmerville's Youngest Scholar

Austin received a letter from his kindergarten teacher in the mail the other day and enclosed was a list of school supplies he's supposed to bring on the first day. He is so, so, SO excited about starting school! He went to sneak-a-peek last spring and loved it. He met his teacher and several of his new classroom buddies. There's a pet rabbit in the classroom and a b-ball hoop just his size on the playground. He was sold the moment I dropped him off.

Have you ever gone back to your elementary school? The thing that sticks out most to me every time I go back is that after 23 years, it still smells the same- a combination of book bags, school lunches, crayons, and cleaner.

Anyways, back to Austin's supply list. He needs all the basics- pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, etc. I think I am as excited as he is to go school shopping. I love the look and feel of fresh school supplies! One thing that wasn't on his list but I clearly remember being on mine is a nap mat. I remember some kids had really cool soft, comfortable rugs to lie on. For whatever reason, my mom got me one of those woven polyester, backdoor-shoe mat kind of things. I think that after my kindergarten year my nap mat did grace our mudroom floor. Hey, maybe my mom was just being practical and thinking ahead.

Austin will be attending for half days this fall, whereas I went for full days everyday but Wednesday, which were halves. Crazy how I can remember stuff like this. Fridays were the best days for lunch because our parents could order McD's for us and classroom moms would deliver it to the counter outside the classroom. I always got chicken McNuggets with honey to dip in or the fish sandwich. Austin is a bit bummed that he won't get the experience of lunchroom dining until he's in the 1st grade. And for some reason, the only snack I ever remember being served is graham crackers and little cartons of milk. To this day, I love to eat graham crackers with milk and I love the way milk tastes from those little cardboard cartons.

I come from a family of 13 grandchildren and my grandma took each of us out for a day of shopping and lunch before we started kindergarten. I'm the 7th in line so by the time my turn came around I could hardly wait. She took me to the west side Meijers and with a $50 budget, I'm sure I probably spent every single penny. I picked out a pink calculator (for those tough kindergarten math problems) and a green notepad that looked like a box of jell-o. I also got at least one outfit, a dress that I later wore for picture day. My clearest memory of my first day of school was sitting at my table and offering my new classmates some "jell-o", I guess that was my attempt to break the ice. Seriously, I can't remember how I spent my day yesterday but I can remember this stuff from 2 decades ago!?!? Crazy.

So with Austin being our first "baby" to start school we're hoping to start a tradition similar to my grandma's. Take just the new school kid out for shopping and lunch. The dress code at the elementary is pretty relaxed but all of his long sleeve shirts from last fall/winter are too short and he needs a couple of new pairs of jeans, plus some nice shoes and all of the essentials. New clothes, new crayons with sharp pointy tips, folders, and a pencil box... makes me wish I was the one starting school.

A Fair Evening

We took the kids to the fair Wednesday nite. They had a blast riding all the rides and eating fair food. Audrey's eyes sparkled all nite with excitement. Their pure joy totally made it worth the dirt, the germs, and the price. Why go to Cedar Point when the Jackson County Fair is 5 miles from home? To the right: Austin is less than thrilled that Audrey gets to drive and ring the bell.

Lexi checking out a newly hatched chick. No, I didn't let her pet it and then stick her fingers in her mouth. She was still busy polishing off the rest of the fries on the way to the birthing barn.

Austin thrilled with the carousel. Notice Lexi in the background less than thrilled. She cried the first 3 or 4 laps around before calming down a bit.

Lexi watching Austin and Audrey on the train. We didn't buy her an $18 unlimited rides bracelet because we thought she probably was a little too young to really enjoy all the rides (carousel- proof in point). We bought 4 tickets for $5 thinking she'd be able to ride a couple of rides and then blew 3 of them right away on her less than thrilling carousel ride. Which left us with 1 ticket, which of course wasn't enough for another ride. She looked so sad watching the kids through the bars it about broke my heart that her parents were being so cheap=)

Audrey on the bumper boats. She wasn't too happy when her dress got wet.

Austin looking like the handsome little dude that he is.

Did you think I would really be that heartless to let Lexi miss out on all the fun? After splitting with Tom, Austin, and Audrey I took Lexi thru the barns to look at the animals and get ice cream. Then we met back up with the fam and got 4 more tickets for her so that she was able to ride the train and go down the big slide with Tom. She thought she was the "stuff" riding with big brother and sister. Every time she came around she'd wave at me.

The votes are in and the favorite ride of the nite was: the tilt-o-whirl. I could hear the kids screaming like little girls but every time they'd come around they were smiling. As soon as they got off they headed back to wait in line for another ride!

Any other blogspot bloggers have trouble with uploading images? Every time I try to, my pics kind of pop up in no apparent order and then I can't get them to cooperate in my post. Ugh!

Little Mermaids

Leslie and I took the kids to Nixon pool tonite. Leslie met me at my house with iced coffees and we attempted to relax and have a grown up conversation for a couple of minutes while the kids snacked. No such luck. You'd think they were completely attention deprived the way they all clamored around. By the time we left the house, Audrey was in meltdown mode because I *gasp* wanted her to wear a brand new swimsuit as opposed to her old ratty one. I was already feeling rather ghetto as I was resigned to wiggle and jiggle in my bikini (no time to buy anything more "mommy" appropriate) so I thought at least my kids could look nice. Audrey disagreed. Seriously, sometimes I question my sanity. But I finally had all three kids strapped in and ready to go.

We made it to the pool, loudly announcing our arrival in the echo-y locker room, and then all was well. I constantly counted 1-2-3 all evening but still managed to chat with Leslie. Austin eventually became brave enough to conquer the polar bear slide on his own. He's such a little chicken, so I was really impressed when I saw him go down without me even being around for moral support. I can't believe it's already the end of July and we're only just now getting to the pool for the first time. Fair week is coming up and admission is only $2/swimmer so I'm going to try to get the kids there a couple of times that week. Hopefully they'll sleep good tonite!

A Rant Post

So let me start from the beginning. A couple of months ago some of my bestest friends from high school and I decided to plan our 10 year reunion. We figured no one else was taking the initiative so we might as well and then we'd know it was getting done right. Ang called around, got some info and prices. We decided on Daryl's Downtown. Super good food, cool atmosphere and as an extra bonus~ no room charge, so there would be less expense.

Four of us each chipped in $25 and Ang and I headed to Daryl's to reserve the room and meet with the event planner to discuss the menu. Believe me, we double, even triple-checked with the planner to make sure our $100 deposit was in fact going to be put towards our final food bill for the reunion. We double, even triple-checked menu options and prices with her because we wanted to make sure no one got screwed with the final bill.

As a committee, we decided on the beef sirloin (from the $22 menu) and the stuffed chicken (from the $28 menu) because we had been told that Daryl's would price each meal (which included both a portion of the beef and chicken) as $25/person, which with tax and 20% gratuity made the grand total for each person attending approximately$31. We decided to play it safe and charge each person attending $32, so that we would have a little extra to cover additional expenses- invites, etc. Let me remind you, there was no room charge or we would have added a couple of dollars to each meal to help cover that as well. Because I was the senior class treasurer I volunteered/ was elected to collect all of the monies and pay the final bill for the evening. Several days before the reunion, I called the event planner to confirm our menu choices and give her our final count. (And, may I point out, received no objections from her.)

Fast forward to 2 Fridays ago, July 11th, the nite of the class reunion. Everything was wonderful. The food was delicious. The servers were attentive and courteous. Things were running smoothly. Then I received the bill. Problem #1: a $100 room charge. Problem #2: $28/meal charge (roughly making each meal $35 with tax and gratuity). Equaling $202.06 in extra, unexpected, surprise charges. I talked to the manager that evening, who of course couldn't do anything because he was just going by what he had been told. I had no choice but to pay. The whole bill. But I was assured that if I called the next day and talked to the event planner, then she would fix everything and make it right. I called the next day. No answer. I then called Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday leaving messages and talking to NO ONE. Ang then called and was able to talk to Daryl who assured her that if I were to call the next day at 10:30 said event planner would be available to take my call and work things out. I called. At 10:30. Event planner was unavailable. Hmmm, there's a big surprise. Was referred to person #3. Finally a real person to talk to. Told him my story. Said he would talk to Daryl and get back with me. Called back later in the day. Starts off by saying how he's really sorry that this happened (and basically implying that I am screwed). I again restate the issues. All of a sudden he "understands", says he'll talk to Daryl and get back with me. That was last Thursday.

This is now Wednesday, almost 2 weeks after the reunion. Still haven't heard anything. Call and leave a message for person #3. Return home from work tonite to hear a message from Daryl himself. I call right away and catch him as he's going out the door. I feel like telling him, "uh, sir, you could be "going" in the crapper for all I care, please resolve my issues, thank you very much." I have a 20 minute calm, but tense conversation with him in which he pretty much:

• told me he has to make a living. I almost gag at the though of poor Daryl struggling to make a living as his restaurant prices its meals well into the luxury range. Instead, I point out that our husbands entertained themselves at the bar all evening. Probably more than enough to make up for his restaurant's little mistake with our bill.
• covered for his crappy employees, because bottom line is- his employees messed up and I'm stuck paying for their mistakes. He kept telling me that they never serve entrees from 2 different menus for one price. I don't care if they never do, fact is, they DID and no one said otherwise until they tried to stick us with the higher priced bill. He also kept mentioning that they usually charge $600 for the use of the room we had and he was actually giving us a break by only charging us $100. Except we were never told that the $100 deposit was a room charge and not a credit toward the meals.
• insisted that he delivered what was promised (i.e., meals and service) so how should I possibly feel like I should be refunded any money? I tell him that it's almost 2 weeks after the fact and I'm just now being able to get this resolved because his employees who give such "great service" don't know how to return a message when a problem arises.
• mentioned several times that "my friend" (Angie) knew about the room charge and that our stories are a little mixed up. I offer to come down to the restaurant with Angie so that we can sit and chat with Daryl and his event planner as one big happy family and get things resolved once and for all, no he said, she said. He didn't want to do that.
• He finally offers to refund our room charge ($100). I tell him it's a start. I'm tempted to tell him a couple of other things and I really, REALLY want to say, "I'll have my lawyer call you" but I guess that can wait until after I get the money.

So shame on me! It never occurred to me to get a contract spelling out the charges for the evening. It should have. Lesson learned. I also never asked for final $ numbers when I called with final menu plans and count. I should have. Lesson learned again. But bigger shame on you, Daryl! If you were an honest, respectable businessman (which I thought you were) you would use your common sense, figure out we're not trying to cheat you out of a lousy $200, apologize for the time it's taken to get things settled and then graciously refund me the full $202.06.

Alas, I have to settle for his $100 offer. (I don't want to press him any more and have him get so ticked he changes his mind and I don't get anything.) So tomorrow Tom will stop by and pick up my money from the hostess stand. And it better not be on gift cards.

The Garage Sale That Wasn't, The Garage Sale That Wasn't, The Garage...

Seriously, am I beginning to sound like a broken record here? I thought this was MY weekend to get the dang thing done and over. For my husband to reclaim his man's room. For me to reclaim the sanity that comes with a neat and organized house. But for the 7th weekend in a row, it just wasn't meant to be. Perhaps I should have thrown in the towel when the paper arrived today sans the ad I shelled out $45 for (the ad that was supposed to be there). But, no, I stubbornly pressed ahead making signs for all of the intersections in a 3 mile radius of our home in hopes to bring the masses in (ok, so 3 miles is a little exaggeration).

Nope, the deal breaker came as I finally got the kids tucked into bed and headed out to do some serious set-up. My mom was on her way, Tom was cooperating (for once), and we had the whole nite ahead of us. When suddenly I thought I saw lightning. At first I brushed the thought away, but as I was talking to God about my plans for the sale, He responded with a bigger, more obvious lightning show. So I'm no dummy (just stubborn and hard headed). Tom helped me move everything back into the garage and we shut the door as the first big drops of rain started plopping down.

Even though tomorrow is supposed to be clear, I cannot set up in a hour, or even 2, and the weatherchannel.com is showing rain through 6am. I work tomorrow nite, so I won't have the time or energy to get ready for a Friday/Saturday sale. And it's too late to call the paper and have them run my ad for Thursday's paper (I feel like I really need an ad to make my sale really worth while). So this whole garage sale idea for this weekend is a wash. Literally.

The End Of An Era

... the baby era in Hosmerville, that is (at least we hope so;) Yup, it's official, Lexi is now tucked into her "big girl bed" for the second nite in a row. Goodbye crib!

I was able to get a real deal on the bed, thanks to my cuz Julie. She had heard I was looking for one and sent me a link to Jackson Swap Shop. I bought the bed for $10 off a guy named Cisco (yes, he did have a shaved head and tattoos) who delivered it to my door pronto. Nice guy, really, but that's a whole 'nother story in itself. But anyways, yesterday was the big day. The kids helped me put it together and we attempted to move the crib out. Unfortunately, the crib was too wide to fit thru the doorway so we had to squeeze around it all day until Tom could get home and dismantle it for us. Now it's sitting in my living room awaiting its fate in the BIG sale this weekend. (Yes, the garage sale that I was supposed to have, oh, 5 or 6 weeks ago.)

So Lexi is seeming to transition from her crib to toddler bed like a champ. She's fussed a little both nites at bedtime and gets attitude when I've tried to tuck her in (refusing her blanket and books). But she STAYS IN HER ROOM!!! She actually knocked on her bedroom door tonite and sat on the inside crying ~*heartbreaking*~ but so far she hasn't left her room and finds her way back to bed to fall asleep. Here's hoping this isn't the honeymoon phase.

Kid Speak

It seems as if my 22 month old is finally catching on as how to hold her own against her older 2 siblings. Audrey had some rocks this morning and Lexi snagged one and ran away. Audrey followed howling in hot pursuit. Time for some mommy intervention before things get ugly.

me: Lexi, give Audrey's rock back to her.

Lexi: (very adamant and clear) uh~uh, I got it first.

Can't argue with that!

Christmas In July

I got something in the mail on Monday. Something big. Something so big that the mere appearance of it caused me to jump up and down screaming causing the kids to consider (once again) admitting mom to the psycho ward. There was rumor that Tom & I might receive this but I refused to give into the hope or dream that I actually would until I had it in my greedy little hands. And then came Monday, the day I've been anxiously awaiting 2 looong months. As I stood with baited breath and trembling hands, I tore open the envelope and gazed at the bold print numbers before me: $2100. A very generous and VERY much appreciated gift from our lovely federal government in the form of our economic stimulus check. Wow! It's good to be American. And even better to be one with 3 little darlings!

As a loyal citizen of this beloved country I felt it my patriotic duty to go forth and "stimulate". And I promptly did. Within 2 hours, I was out the door with kids in tow. First, we picked up some flower flats at a sale to benefit JCS; I snagged 4 flats and a hanging basket for $21. Then we headed to McD's. Sensing my gleeful mood, Austin pounced and asked very sweetly for a Happy Meal. I was going to order off the dollar menu, but, what the heck, I still had $2079 hot ones to throw around. And on the pretense of being a thoughtful wife (but really just to get his John Hancock on aforementioned check), we took Tom a sweet tea at work.

Next stop, the bank. I briefly considered cashing the check, as opposed to just depositing it, and asking for all $1's so I could throw it around and roll in it naked but after considering that my actions might send a distorted message about money to my kids, I reconsidered and made a hefty deposit. Then we were on to Target to "stimulate" a little bit more. I picked up a new cordless phone and the kids each picked out new shovels for the sand box. Hey, what can I say, I'm a big spender.

Today I had a couple of small splurges: Audrey had her 3 years pics taken, the kids all got new footwear from baby GAP, I got a gourmet cup of coffee and we lunched at McD's again. Yes, it's good to be rich but alas reality is setting in and I must reign in my spending. There are bills to send out and debt to be paid off. *sigh* I hope that the $150 I did drop was enough to "stimulate" our struggling economy. What about you, have you done any recent stimulating?