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| Monday, 22-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Continuing where I left off
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Update on the car: transmission is kaput. $2100 to get it fixed. That makes over $4000 in less than 6 weeks on car repairs (this doesn't include the body work and tire blowouts and etc. from earlier posts).
Soccer tournament highlights: Anastasia's team played pretty badly this weekend, but they did play some tough teams. One team was so tough (or at least their players) that Anastasia got kicked in the face while coming out of the goal and diving for a ball, saving a goal. I was standing down on the sidelines at her end of the field, and I actually saw her head snap back from the impact. But Anastasia didn't let go of the ball until the ref blew the whistle. The opposing forward got a yellow card, and Anastasia (after a couple min. of crying face down on the grass w/ her face in her hands, her teammates surrounding her) stayed in the game. She now has a bruise under her left eye on her cheek and across half of her nose. One of her teammates commented: "Anastasia, you're so lucky. You get to go to your first day of middle school w/ a huge bruise on your face. That's so awesome!" And she meant it!
Arianna played her first game this weekend as a legitimate member of her new team, Rush Nike. It's one of the top teams in the state at her age group. Basically, Rush (the soccer club here in Denver where my kids play) moved her up to the top team last week. Her coach is a woman and really cool. She played Arianna all over the place, trying to figure out where she fits into the team. Arianna mostly played either outside left midfielder or left forward or center midfielder. She even scored a goal and made a bunch of assists.
Anastasia's first day of school was today. She was a little stressed, but I think mostly because she was worried she wouldn't be able to get her locker open. She really doesn't know anyone going to her new school. We got there about a min. late (I have to get the morning drop-offs' timing better), but it was no big deal, really, because it was a school day only for 7th graders so they'd be familiar w/ their schedules, etc., before the official first day of school starts (tomorrow).
After getting her situated in the auditorium (the principal was talking to the 7th graders when I left), I went grocery shopping. When I got home around 11:30 (Arianna and Kat are the only ones home), I noticed that Anastasia had forgotten her lunch; she left it on the deacon's bench right by our front door.
I made dinner (yay! Two days in a row -- practically a new recent record) and then took Arianna and Kat swimming at our rec center. They played around while I swam a mile. It was empty except for us -- really cool! As close as you can get to having your own private pool!
After swimming, I busted butt into Denver to pick Alix up from school; she had a 4 p.m. soccer practice. Then I had to pick up Andrew and Anastasia. A long loop that took over an 75 min. to complete. I got to Anastasia's school about 40 min. after it ended. I ultimately discovered that picking Alix up from school for a 4 p.m. practice just isn't going to work. It just takes too long to get into the middle of the city and then out again and head north to the north western suburbs to pick Anastasia and Andrew up at their respective schools. It's a recipe to make everyone late.
Talked to Andy today. He seemed kinda depressed. I think mostly because he found out today that he won't be home until next Tues. at the earliest. He has to take a week to outprocess, something that a normal, semi-motivated person could accomplish in about 2 days. Typical Army scheduling.
Okay, now to vacuum the downstairs and mop the kitchen floor before midnight strikes!
Hasta!
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| Friday, 19-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Grinding to a stop
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Just a quick update while I'm waiting for clothes to finishing washing . . . soccer clothes to be precise (for yet another weekend of soccer tournaments).
Well, I got a call from Andy today. He was in Maine! This after a grueling couple of days, sitting on busses for 12 hours on run ways, etc. etc. and delaying about 3 days his departure from Kuwait. He had stops in Romania and Iceland before getting to Maine. I hadn't heard anything from him via email or phone for days, so I didn't have a clue about what was going on w/ him. Except Wed night (or early morning) at about 1 a.m. he called from Kuwait to tell me that he hadn't left as scheduled. I really don't remember much else from the short conversation -- I had been in the middle of REM sleep and my brain wasn't exactly firing at the moment.
Anyway, got a call from him around 10:30 this morning. He had to cut it short because he was about to board a plane from Maine to Ft. Dix, NJ.
Anastasia and Arianna and I took Rowdy for a bath at a "you wash your pet" type place. Rowdy's gotten to be so calm and well-behaved while getting her bath lately. She doesn't shake off the water until the very end. Also while we were bathing Rowdy, I was getting the oil changed on the minivan at Jiffy Lube a couple of blocks away.
On the way home, we went through the Good Times drive through (burger place -- it's beef that's natural and non-antibiotic, etc) and got us burgers and chicken fingers for Rowdy. I mean, what kind of person gets her pet a meal from a drive through fast food place? Yep -- a wack job.
Well, about 5 min. toward home, Rowdy puked inside the van (and within a few min. had eaten up her vomit in dog-like fashion).
After getting rid of Rowdy at home and having the girls get ready for an afternoon of soccer (and giving the car a quick scrub!), I then rushed to pick Alix up from school in the middle of Denver (35 min. from my house), then Andrew from his school (about 25 min. north and west of Alix's high school in a northen suburb of Denver (Arvada). I had a soccer practice to get Arianna to (4 p.m.) and a game that Anastasia needed to be at (5:30 warm-up).
On the way to Andrew's school, the car started sounding progressively weirder -- high pitched sound and lots of revving of the engine. By the time I was in front of his school picking him up, the car was getting pretty loud w/ it's revving and whining, and the acceleration was veerrrryyy slow. I drive another 5 min., and the car won't push past 20 w/out lots of revving. So, I pull into a Home Depot parking lot, turn off the car and start it up again. Fine. Except when I put it in reverse, it goes nowhere. I turn the car off, look under the hood. There's an odor like cooking fish coming from my car. I turn the car back on, and this time it goes back in reverse fine. When I put it in drive, it doesn't budge. The engine's still on; the car's just not moving. Right then Andy calls me again. I really can't process what he's telling me (I think he says he's at Ft. Dix, but they lost one of his bags (the one w/ all his underwear and changes of clothes) and that at 2 a.m., "they" are going to get everyone up to start perparing for a bus ride to Philly so that he and the others can fly to Fayetteville, NC outside of Ft. Bragg (final destination before home). But I'm barely listening. I just kinda interupt and tell him the car's dead . . . again . . . and I think I need to get it towed and rent a car.
I start the car up again, and it starts moving. So, wishful thinking, my plan is to get it to a car rental place (a couple miles away) and rent a car and get mine towed from there. Reality becomes: about a quarter mile later, I'm pulling over to the side of the road because the car isn't going faster than 15 mph and losing its ability to do even that very rapidly.
I call the car service place which got over $2000 from me last month, and they give me the number to a towing company. I call the towing company and set up the tow. I call my mother-in-law (who was waiting for me in front of a nearby Barnes and Noble, as we planned, so that she could collect Andrew for a picnic w/ friends that evening). She comes out and rescues me and the kids and takes me to a car rental place. I leave the key to my car under the floor mat for the towing guy.
I rent a Nissan Pathfinder for the price of a minivan (they were out of minivans) plus a 5 % discount because I told them my husband's on his way back from Iraq (at least you get some perks out of a year like this!). I load up my rental car w/ all the junk I grabbed from my car and head down to Anastasia's soccer game for her warm-up. She gets there 5 min. early. Miraculously.
That car fiasco started at approx. 4 p.m., and I was down in Littleton watching Anastasia warm-up by 5:30 with a car towed, 3 of my kids distributed to my mother-in-law, a car rented and Friday evening rush hour traffic navigated through. I think it's a record worthy of some note.
Anastasia's team won 2-1.
Oh, the wash is done! I'm going to bed so that I can get up early so I can drop kids off at their respective fields!
I think first thing in the a.m. I'll be needing a stiff java drink.
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| Tuesday, 16-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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| Monday, 15-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Two months later . . .
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Arianna's new competitive soccer team winning the championship.
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Um, somewhere I got kinda off track on this blogging thing.
I think it fell apart when Andy came home on R and R. He got home on July 6th and stayed home for about 17 days, I think. It took him about 4 days to get over jet lag (4 days in which he slept sporadically and not much, so consequently neither did I. His eyes would pop open around 1 a.m. and then he'd spend some time tossing and turning until I, too, was awake, and then he'd say, "Let's go downstairs and watch T.V." or surf the web, etc. etc. I finally told him that I've been on Denver time for a looonnng time now, thank you v. much, and I'd kinda like to not have to get over jet lag, too.
He left the day after a soccer tournament started in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy. He got to see Anastasia and Alexandra play a game each, then had to fly early the next day. Since then, one kid or another (or all) have had soccer tournaments (2 to be exact), and there's one planned for this upcoming weekend. All this before the soccer season actually officially starts (Aug. 27th).
This past weekend, Arianna played w/ her new competitive team she tried out for at the end of May (see blog entries). It was the first time her team had played together after only about 4 practices. They won their division, making them tournament champs. Arianna scored 9 goals in 5 games -- 2 "hat tricks" and one penalty kick among them. She had a blast. And I (and poor Andrew and Kat) had the dubious pleasure of watching 15 plus games in those 5 days (actually 4 days because one of the days was rained out and all those games had to be rescheduled). By the end of the weekend, I was bleary eyed and exhausted (and I didn't do anything but watch!).
Today was a BIG day in our Efaw history. Alexandra went to her first day of high school. She's going to George Washington High School in the inner city of Denver. If you recall, she got into the IB program there, and because of this program, George Washington (or "George" as the school's affectionately called) is ranked 92 of all public high school in the country.
Well, today she entered the school of 5000 students not knowing anyone but one kid from her junior high. She'd gotten her schedule last week at registration, but none of her classes were with this one girl she knew. But Alix didn't seem nervous at all. She told me, "Mom, I get more nervous before soccer games than I am now." My mind flashed back to my first day of high school, and it seemed, literally, like last week. My mom embarrassed me beyond belief by insisting I stand in front of my high school's sign and have my pic taken. Today, I planned on dropping Alix off at the main entrance, but she insisted I come inside w/ her. "Are you sure?" I asked. "There aren't a lot of parents coming in w/ their kids. I don't want you to be embarrassed." She observed for a minute, then pointed out the one or two parents making their ways into the school among all the freshmen. "See, Mom? There're some parents right there." So, we went in together (behind a girl all dressed up in a multi-colored burka. No kidding) and followed the throng to a table where 2 women were handing out revised schedules (if necessary) and student ID cards. Alix was told to go into the auditorium and wait for further instructions. So right there in the midst of about 1000 urban freshmen, she gave me a big hug and kiss and then strode into the auditorium. No problemo.
Tomorrow we're taking Denver's public bus (RTD system) to her school because from tomorrow onward, she's prob going to be taking the city bus to school. She's not a bit afraid of that either; she just wants me to take it w/ her the first time so she knows what to do. Way braver than I ever dreamed of being as a 14 year old!
It's really quite pathetic that I can sum up the past 8 weeks in a few short paragraphs, isn't it?
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| Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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More braking news. I got the mini-van fixed last week. Got it back last Thurs. after tossing $1500 at Tilden's auto care shop. While driving it the 4 plus miles home, I noticed the rear was creaking . . . loudly. Friday I drove it around a little, but decided that I shouldn't continue driving it until after it got checked again. Plus, the brakes were sticking and not stopping quickly enough at stop signs and red lights.
I took it back in on Monday. I stowed my mountain bike inside so that I could ride it back home after dropping off the car. Andy's timing w/ calling was right on target (most of the time he calls at the wrong time), and I was on my way down to dropping the car. He was on the other line as I drove the car around w/ the mechanic inside, listening to my blah blah banter. He also overheard the diagnoses. I left the car, got on my bike, and since Andy was still on the line, I rode back home along Cherry Creek w/ my cell phone on my shoulder (or in my right hand, steering the bike w/ my left). I got lots of looks!
Anyway, the prognosis is that they put in a defective part. So, they have to order a new one (it'll take 3 days), and it's unsafe for me to drive my van around in the interim. Also, they discovered that I need new rear brakes. Cha-ching -- $200 more. I'm borrowing my in-law's Honda Accord (and stuffing my 5 kids into it everywhere we go).
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| Monday, 20-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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Breaking news
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So, I was driving to pick Arianna up from her week-long soccer camp (first day today) at about a quarter to 3. She'd been there since 9. I was driving up Federal Blvd to get onto I-70 and I heard/felt something snap under my car, and then I felt something dragging under the car. So, I pull off the road toward a service station about 100 meters away.
I got one of the mechanics in the service station to quickly look at the thing that was dragging under my car, just to see if he felt it was safe to drive my car since I had Arianna waiting for me about 15 min. away. He thought it looked like something to do w/ the emergency break, but wasn't sure and wouldn't be able to check it out for about an hour. Also, I spotted something dripping from underneath the engine. The guy felt it would not be safe to drive, so I punched Erin's cell number on my cell (we'd seen her a couple hours earlier at the swimming pool swimming laps, so I knew that she wasn't working today and just might be available to bail me out).
She rescued me! She was meeting somebody someplace, but cancelled her plans to pick up Arianna. Then the 7 of us crammed into her little sedan "refugee style" as Erin put it (also noting it wasn't exactly a PC description).
With Erin's help, I decided not to have the service station guy diagnose the car for $65 and instead get it towed to someplace more reputable.
By the time I called a towing company that took credit cards, it was 4:30, so nobody would be able to look at the car until tomorrow morning earliest. So here I sit, stranded. Couldn't take Alix to practice today (turned out a blessing because the skies opened w/ lightening and pouring rain, and I would've prob have driven 30 min. south to just turn back around again when practice was cancelled). I couldn't run to the store as planned to get toilet paper and dish soap and lunch stuff. I am completely and totally out of all three items. That's right, not one square of toilet paper for 6 people, and not one drop of dish soap to wash the dishes piling up in the kitchen sink. And nothing lunch-like to send w/ Arianna for her camp (I had to buy Subway for her today as a "slug stopper.") The weather turned foul, so riding my bike to the nearest Safeway isn't exactly an option, either.
On the positive side: I feel a lot better. I swam today a mile plus, but I admit the first several laps I was really going to quit. I didn't think I'd be able to do it. I hadn't taken my inhaler for one thing, and my lungs were filled w/ wheezy gunk that would not cough out (the inhaler may have cleared some of that, I don't know). I thought I was going to drown on my own mucus that was hovering in my upper respiratory area. But then I finally coughed BIG TIME and most of it broke free. I had a GREAT workout after that.
Another positive: since I am in fact more or less stranded in my house, I can actually clean it. I'm totally out of my lysol foam spray, so I can't do bathrooms, but there's nothing stopping me from vacuuming and de-staining the carpet in the MANY areas that severely need attention (and have been needing it for months). Also, another work-in-progress I could move forward is completely putting away the winter clothes that are piled on top of dressers to make room for the summer stuff.
I'm sure I'm painting quite the picture of the state of my humble abode of late. What's emerging in your mind? Multiply that by about 5, and that would about equal what my house really looks like! Maybe one day I'll put up a picture to illustrate this.
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| Saturday, 18-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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Beating Fast Tracks
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What a long week. Finally Alix's camp on the other end of the world is over. Driving a total of 2 hours (1 hour each way) for a 2 hour soccer session for 5 days straight is really insane. I don't know why I do these things!
But the plus side of this is:
1) I got to go to a nearby Starbucks everyday and do school w/ Andrew. We knocked out a lot of phonics that way (and I downed lots of mood enhancers at the same time).
2) I earned a free Tokyo Joe bowl. I think we ate at that place (Teriaki bowls -- chicken and veggies and even brown rice if you're so inclined) 3 days last week. Luckily, they have frequent eater cards, and w/ my horde, I filled up that card pretty quickly.
I have been so tired, tho. Even after 3 doses of Prednisone, my bronchitis is hanging in there. Cough Cough Cough. Hack Hack Hack. Can't stand it. And when you've had as many kids as I have. . . .well, I'll just not complete that train of thought. But today, I had to give myself albuterol (rescue inhaler) 4 times already in an attempt to ease my breathing and get rid of the wheezing, but that really didn't do much to help.
So today. We all got up at 6 so that we could get out of the house by 6:45 -- track meet an hour away. We didn't leave until 7, tho, but I still got there on time by busting butt up I-25 and hoping the cops wouldn't nab me for my speed.
It is now 3:45, and we just got home from the meet, only after stopping at Subway for a late lunch. A very long and hot day and a blast from the past. I remember back in my day when I'd while away my weekends at track meets. I don't think there's a more numbing spectator sport. Except, perhaps, watching swim meets (which I'll also get to experience very soon).
Alix ran the 800 (1/2 mile). She was also supposed to run the 100, but her legs were really fried after a week of soccer practices w/out a break and first running the 800. She did okay in her race -- ran it in 2:58 which only earned her 5th place in her age group. But that race is kinda a tricky one, one in which you really do need to think and strategize. Alix just sort of ran it. She wants me to train her to run it so next time she can do better.
Arianna ran the 100 and 200 and did the softball throw. She did average in all of them.
Anastasia ran the 800 and 400 and 4 by 100 relay (a 100m leg). She did not do very well in her 2 individual races (tho I give her lots of kudos for finishing them), so getting a 3rd place w/ her relay team really rose her spirits. She had the 3rd leg of the relay and kept their third place and even narrowed the gap for second place by a little.
Now I think we're going to go to an arts sidewalk type thing in the Highlands area of Denver and rent a Blockbuster. While the kids watch the DVD, I think I'm going to take a ride on my mtn bike. All that running and jumping and various nervous energy around me made me feel very lazy and slouch-like. Not to mention observing countless parents screaming at their kids to: "Push it!" "Dig in! Dig deep!" "Catch that girl. Make your move NOW!" whilst simulaneously shoving extra cheese nachos down their gullets that they purchased from the concession truck. Makes me never want to eat again.
I went to the chiropractor twice this week. He said that my back is all jammed up again; my right leg was nearly an inch shorter than the left! It really has been hurting me a lot lately, particularly after the trip to NM. I don't think all that time in the car w/out a break is good for me. He says I need to lay off the running again for a while and bike (or swim). This is okay, I guess, seeing as I've traded wheezing for breathing these days. Yesterday, I ran 5 miles, and I thought I was going to die on the road. My chest was rattling the whole time, and I had to stop several times to cough (I think I worried more than a couple drivers who passed me). So, it's prob best that I give myself a little break until everything settles down.
HOWEVER, there's this 6 mile trail race I want to do Tues. evening in Golden, so all this back and lung stuff? It had better be gone by then!
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| Wednesday, 15-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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Another trip to the doc
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I finally went to the doc today after hacking and coughing and generally feeling horrible for the past 4 or 5 days. Back to National Jewish triage (this is where you go when you can't get an appt w/ your regular doctor. They don't have same day or walk-in appts there, and I could've just gone to my Primary Care physician, but I figured it's better to go where people can read my lung history). ANYWAY, my lungs sounded really bad apparently, tho my lung function on my pulmonary function (breathing) test was 101% of projected for my height and weight and age. (My readings are usually around 120% of projected when I'm "healthy", so for me, 101% isn't all that great, but to "them" I'm doing just fantastic, relative to most they see on a daily basis. Even tho my lungs were rattling w/ all the crud inside of them and I couldn't take a deep breath w/out nearly losing a lung!) But since I did sound so bad, I had to get a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia.
Technology today -- I stepped off the elevator, which opened into radiology, and they were already ready for me! "You must be Amy," the receptionist person said as I approached his desk. How often does that happen? I changed into one of those gowns which flashes your butt to the entire staff if you're not careful and got my x-ray. The whole trip to radiology and back took less than 10 min., and when I returned to the triage clinic, my x-rays were already up on the computer! It took about 15 min. for the radiologist to read them and determine that I did not have pneumonia, but I did have lots of other gunk in there which was diagnosed as bronchitis. No biggie -- I get that about 3 times a year on average. I got prescribed another antibiotic and prednisone and went home . . . to soccer-mama shuttling for the rest of the afternoon.
So the day:
Got up at 5:45 to run 5-6 miles. Took the kids to track practice by 7:30. Zipped home and grabbed a shower, then picked the kids up at 9 (first dropping by our fav sweet roll place to get the kids a treat). Stopped off at the chiropractor because my back still isn't fixed and then the grocery store to pick up lunch (Campbell's tomato soup and Goldfish crackers). Took Kat to swimming lessons at 11, and by noon I was on the way to National Jewish to get checked out. That took me until 2:30. I drove home and was out the door by 3 w/ the kids ready for Alix's soccer camp. Drove 45 min. to the soccer practice and then killed time at Starbucks where I talked to my mom and my sister (seperately) on my cell while simultaneously sipping chai and also trying to keep the remaining kids entertained w/ hot chocolate. (I don't think I was too successful at that; Andrew dumped about 2 TBS of cinnamon powder in his hot chocolate and claimed he likes it that way. I also caught him licking his fingers and trying to get the cinnamon residue from the INSIDE of the cannister! Blech! I made him take it to one of the barristas and tell her that the cannister needed to be washed. That did not endear my kids to any of their hearts, let me tell you!). Then I felt it was time to gainfully employ Andrew, so I did about 7 phonics lessons w/ him. Picked Alix up at 6 from her practice. We spied a Pho place (suburban, but oh well) near the Starbucks we had ravaged earlier, so we ate there after picking Alix up. It was pretty good, but not like "our" place in Denver's Asian district. Drove home (which after rush hour only took 25 min). And here I am!
Next task before bedtime -- attempt to do the mid-month bills. And maybe throw in some laundry.
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| Monday, 13-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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Some relatively recent pics
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Me. I'm pretty happy, really!
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Kat at the soccer field.
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Ari. Now, that's a happy kid!
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I also put some photos on some of the archived entries. You know, to sort of illustrate the story. I have pics of Kat's stitches. Some of the kids playing soccer. Some of the kids w/ their cousins on various cousin visits to Denver. Etc.
I know that this is v. pathetic BUT
1) It's just that I don't often take film in to get developed, and
2) It's even more rare that I take the time to put those photos up (even tho this IS supposed to be a fotopage).
Just the nature of life these days.
A sad example: My mom's b-day was on May 24th, and I have yet to send her her b-day present (which I bought a month early!). I plan to visit her at the end of this month, so I guess I might as well plan to bring the gift along, delivering it in person.
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| Sunday, 12-Jun-2005 00:00 |
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Another week come and gone
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What happened this week:
Monday was Anastasia's first practice w/ her new coach. Also that evening (and of course around the same time, but opposite sides of metro Denver) was Andrew's Kindergarten graduation, which he decided he didn't want to attend anyway, so we didn't (made my evening much less complicated). Also that day was my second one-on-one Pilates session at the Pilates studio near my house (I'd forgotten everything I learned from last session). And also that day, I broke out in hives.
Tuesday morning the hives were worse. I had big puffy blotches on my thighs and inner arms running from my wrists to my biceps. Tracing my bra line, on my back, my butt, my shins, the perimeter of my hands and the palms of my hands. The only place that was spared was my face. It hurt, actually burned, to wash my hands because my hands felt so raw from the hives, and I couldn't stop scratching!
Tues. evening I finally decided (with a little prodding from my mom every time I talked to her) to get checked out. I went to National Jewish, the obvious place because of their allergy specialization. When I revealed to the doc (not my normal doctor there, but the one on duty at triage) that I'd just finished up the last dose of my amoxicillian a couple of days before (I was on it because I'd had a strep infection), the culprit was exposed: I'm apparently allergic to penicilian. The doc told me that you can become allergic to that drug just suddenly; one time you take it you're not, and the next time you are. I was prescribed a suped-up antihistamine that literally knocked me out. I took it before I went to bed, and the next day (Wed) I couldn't shed the resulting grogginess until after 5 p.m. I even had to take a couple hour nap in the middle of the afternoon. I can't take that stuff again -- w/ these 5 kids and all the chaos surrounding them, I can't be doped up all day. They'll burn the house down (or something similarly traumatic).
Thursday started a 4 day long soccer tournament. I was scheduled to watch 10 games over the next days (amazingly, I had no conflicts and everything took place at the same large field complex). Well, the weather did not cooperate. Friday, we endured lightning delays and cancelations, tho we had to hang around the complex until we finally got word what the tournament organizers had decided to do. You see, playing in the rain is fine. Playing w/ lightning is not -- nobody wants fried kids littering the ground. And soggy fields are also not fine -- the delicate Colorado grass gets torn up with all those kids in cleats running around. So, all that has to be taken into account. Sat. games had to be pushed back because many of the fields were too wet to play on (and it rained on and off throughout the day, making things more soggy). Sunday, the finals, ended up being cancelled even tho we had to go to the fields preparing to play. About 30 min. before Alix's team (in the finals) was scheduled to play, the clouds let loose and rain poured down and lightning, once again, streaked the sky. All the finals were cancelled.
I went home after wasting the entire morning and attempted to clean my house. Around 6, I took Arianna and Anastasia on a 2.5 mile run. Then we showered and I took the kids to see Shark Boy and Lava Girl.
Oh, and on Thurs., I had to return my dream vehicle to Enterprise rental and pick up my normal mode of transportation -- our on-its-last-leg mini-van. Lots of weird mix-ups and problems and communication lapses caused the delay in getting back my car. Mostly because the guy who was in charge of my claim at the body shop got bit by a brown recluse spider. I guess he has a chunk rotted out of his arm or something and has been in and out of the hospital the entire time my car was getting fixed. Another thing to weigh on my mind -- I've been having nightmares about spiders biting me or the kids.
End of week.
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So it sounds like you are all very busy. And I just wanted to tell you that I work 6 blocks away from where you guys live. I get off work at 3 or 3:30 and if you ever need someone to watch your younger kids while you go pick up other kids from soccer or something, I would love to help you out! It is the first summer in 5 years that I haven't watched any kids! I miss it a lot. And since I work so close to you guys, I'd love to see all your kids (and you) sometime! I always had fun times watching your kid's. I will call you soon to give you my cell phone number.
