Only 8 more days...

and I'll be in VEGAS with the girls!  I can hardly wait.  I get to be an adult there with no children.  No one wakes me up at 3 am because the monsters are under their bed.  I can order and eat whatever I want without worrying about finding something on the menu that my picky eaters will eat.  I can have rum and coke for breakfast.  I can eat breakfast at 3 pm.  I can go shopping at midnight.  I love that place.  I love the time I get to spend with my best girlfriends.  We giggle and laugh until we pee our pants.  We eat until we can't stuff another thing into our mouths.  It is the best time. 

I can hardly wait.  Did I already say that??!  I can hardly wait.

More upbeat news

With so much craziness going on I need to focus on the fun stuff we have done and are doing.

Last week the kids and I went to the zoo for the afternoon and had a blast.  Afterwards we attended a free concert in the park near the zoo.  Sunday, O had his first baseball game.  He has moved up to the coach pitch division but this season they are using a machine to pitch because of too much inconsistency with the coaches pitching.  It is a huge leap in skill level for all of the players but especially for those who have not played before.  The team did well even though they played a team who had obviously been practicing longer and more intently.  It is difficult at this level because we feel like the kids should be learning the basic skills and the basic rules of the game in a fun way.  This other team seemed to be quite a bit ahead of O's team in many ways and therefore really rolled right over O's team.  How can you learn when the other team overwhelms you?  I have no problem with them practicing and having better skills but it seemed that the coach was taking advantage of the weaknesses on our team which just didn't seem fair at this level.  For instance, one of their batters hit a double that brought 2 of their guys home.  Our 3rd baseman had the ball and the hitter was on second on his way to 3rd.  He obviously stopped when he saw that the 3rd baseman had control of the ball.  While the umpire hadn't officially called the play over, it seemed that it in fact was over so C told the 3rd baseman to throw the ball to the pitcher to get ready for the next play.  When the player did that, the other coach yelled at his player on 2nd to head for 3rd!  Yes, I understand that is how the game is played and I totally understand that the ump had not called the end of the play but, seriously.  Was that necessary at this level? 

I already know that I have a bias with this.  I hate competition.  I really don't know why.  It is healthy and such a positive thing for so many people.  So many people thrive on it.  I totally do the opposite and shut down.  If I get pushed in a competitive way, I will quit and walk away.  I honestly hate it that much.  It is not fun to me.  I don't get it at all.  I am trying so hard not to let O see that side of me and encourage him as he competes in sports and life in general.  He struck out both times he was up to bat and cried both times out of frustration.  I could totally feel for him as I was quoting the Tom Hanks line to him from "A League of Their Own," "There is no crying in baseball!"  I really have to get a grip on this issue I have because it is only going to get worse as he gets older.  The competition I mean.  I HOPE NOT the crying!

M is still loving dance class and is so very cute to watch.  She and her little classmates have fun together.

As is usual with me, I had a whole list of things I wanted to post about but kept getting distracted by things around the house.  I swear I have ADD.  More later....if I can focus long enough!  

This past week

I was going to post several times last week but it seemed like we were on the run a lot.  I'm trying now to remember what we did exactly.  Hmmmmm.....

We didn't leave the house until Tuesday morning when M had her dance class.  Since I had been home from Thursday evening until Tuesday morning (except for venturing out for dinner on Friday evening) I was feeling pretty much back to normal.  Except for the pile of debris piled on our front curb and all over our neighborhood and, of course, O home from school, things didn't really seem off.  More like a holiday vacation causing a change in routine for us and everyone else in the area.   

However, once we left our little bubble, I was able to see first hand much of the destruction that I'd heard about.  Street lights, buildings, trees...it was a rather shocking and stunning realization for me.  Traffic was/still is moving slower than normal but people were/are really getting the hang of these 4 way stops where the lights still aren't working.  4 way stops at very busy intersections are not very common around here so there was certainly a learning curve!  

I headed back to school last week and we all just picked up where we left off.  The only glitch was the kids' childcare place was closed all last week and will be closed this week at least until Friday as well.  That puts a kink it our routine but we'll work around it.  The building that houses the child care place sustained some significant water damage after several large windows failed during the storm.  They have been replacing drywall and carpeting and supplies.  I certainly don't envy them.

Our friend, TG, who is the only person we know who currently lives on Galveston Island was able to return home on Wednesday for the first time in 10+ days.  Unfortunately she found nothing but a mess and lost pretty much everything.  Our hearts go out to her as she deals with this over the next several months and, probably, years.  There are so many sad stories going around right now and we just hope the best for everyone who is going through all of these challenges.

UGH.  I typed this up yesterday and was feeling down from reading all of the local depressing news.  I think I'll quit this post and start again.  I would just delete the entire thing but there are a few details that I'd like to remember in the future.

It has only been two weeks

While things are nearly back to normal in our little corner of the world, there is sadness and upset all around us.  While the media turns to other big stories like the economy and the political race, there is still a lot going on post-Ike around here.

(click on the purple words to link to the news story) 

Tooth Fairy

Here is O proudly posing with the $1 coin the tooth fairy brought him.  The little white stuffed tooth with the red pocket is a hand-me-down from C's family.  You put your tooth in the pocket and put the entire thing under your pillow so as to prevent losing the small item.  Then, when you wake up, there is a coin in its place.  In my day, I had a tiny little container that, if I remember correctly, was clear plastic with a hinged lid.

Anyway, the tooth fairy stuck O's tooth in his baby book on the teeth cutting page.  The tooth fairy did that for my first tooth too.  The rest of the teeth went wherever the tooth fairy has her collection.

  

The whole tooth fairy/santa/easter bunny thing has always bothered me.  On one hand, I remember as a child loving the mystery of it all.  Even after I learned the truth it was fun to play along for my younger sisters.  However, I am uncomfortable with the charade.  I have so far just acknowledged these characters to the kids because they are so much a part of our culture but I don't make a big deal out of them.  If you don't believe that these characters are a huge part of our culture, hang out with a kid sometime and see how often adults talk about them.  Friends, family and total strangers love to ask the kids, "what did Santa bring you?"  "Are you being good so Santa will bring you gifts?" "I see you lost a tooth.  Did the tooth fairy come?" and so on.  Others make a big enough deal of it that I don't have to!  

I strive to make it more about the tradition we are trying to establish be it the family time that the holidays bring or the ceremony of celebrating the lost tooth milestone.  I never use these characters to bribe for good behavior and I try to focus as little on them as possible. 

It IS possible to keep the mystery and fun in these things without letting the whole charade get out of control.

Thanks CB

Special thanks to my friend CB who reminded me of the name of the type of depression I believe I have:  Dysthymia  or maybe even Cyclothymia although I have never been officially diagnosed.

I am grateful to CB and all of my other family and friends who are always there to support me.  You are all the best and I sincerely appreciate you all!

Funny tree

This tree is in our back neighbor's yard.  It is very tall and used to stand parallel to the power pole that is also pictured.  Since Ike came through it has been permanently blown to one side.  It makes me laugh for some unknown reason.