Saturday, March 31, 2012

Be Warned

I am in a foul, foul mood this morning, its origin a phone call from my darling husband (DH) yesterday evening.  DH informed me of a shake-up at work, not affecting him --yet?, but worrisome enough to have me obsessing about the what the if's especially right after our two-year bout of unemployment.  Further fueling the fire of my annoyance is my backache that stems not from over-exerting myself while exercising (which would at least give me some street cred), but from running into my son's room because he called for me in the middle of the night...again.  Ouch--double-time--once because it hurts and twice because he should be sleeping through the night by now (and I should stop being his enabler but I cannot stop jumping up when he calls...shame on me).

In addition to all this, I committed the biggest what not to do when cranky act. I went on Facebook and read all about everyone's super vacations, brilliant children and 'perfect husband's' and then I checked their photos out, too, just because I am a card-carrying masochist.  On a good day, I believe about half of what I read but, on a day like this, I want to believe it all and feel very sorry for myself  with my unmercilessly stressful yet mostly ho-hum life right now.

For all those who are even considering crossing my path today, be warned.  I am emotionally fragile and quick to fly off the handle plus school resumes on Monday after our two week break and I don't want to go back yet.  Oh, boo hoo for me!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Foodie

I always wanted to be the type of person who cannot eat when stressed or the person who 'forgets' to eat when busy.  Huh?  Forget to eat?  Who can do that?  I might have a million things to do but I would never forget to eat, heck, eating is a top priority for me which I literally factor into my day. By the way, I also throw in a couple of snack times given that my stomach always alerts me that too much time has passed since it last felt sated.  Don't get me wrong,  I don't spend time wearing a Doritos bag on my face--though they are yummy--but my love of food stems back to my childhood with my little Italian Grandma making the most delectable, mouth-watering dishes whose scrumptious flavors and textures I can still conjure in my mind's eye.

There is a mom I know from school who has a blog where she posts dishes that she prepares along with some brief and witty commentary.  The photos, which she takes herself, cast her food in an almost perfect light making her creations almost leap off the screen.  Between checking out her blog daily and reading all the food magazines that I do, I suppose I will never be able to 'forget to eat' because I love the constant reminder of all those amazing concoctions and will not accept the bland  life I would have without eating them.  Forget to eat? Honestly, why would I ever want to.

Monday, March 26, 2012

How Many Guesses?

What is worse than driving over 25 hours in a car with four children and one sick husband after having spent the night in only one hotel room because your confirmed adjoining rooms apparently were not that confirmed?  What is worse is seeing said sick husband get back on a plane before dawn after the hell-ride and ending up with a sick child to care for during the final week of spring break. Apparently, all those germs from the passenger seat had no trouble locating our son all the way in the back of the car. This is not the way I had planned the second week of break to go and my poor little guy is so cranky and feverish that he is breaking my heart.  Add to that the cold and blustery day we returned to, the Mt. Everest-sized mountain of laundry from our week's vacation, the mad dash sprucing up for the two home showings this afternoon and a case of the blues from their subsequent cancellation and you have the makings of one crabby mom.

I had hoped that this would be a calm week before heading back to school what with its 'race to the finish' pace now that spring break will be over and the end of the school year is a mere two months away.  In hindsight, instead of bottling the sand from the beach we frequented last week, I should have been bottling the calm I had felt as I know I would love to be drinking that in right about now.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Tantrum

I am certain that everyone has witnessed at least one full-blown tantrum in his or her life.  You know, a really good one with stomping feet, hands balled into fists, maybe even some wild threats and lots  and lots of tears.  I suppose by now you might think that I am going to segue into a story about one of my children but, alas, this tantrum is mine all mine!  I don't want my vacation to end.  That's right, folks, I will not leave the beach! No! You can't make me!

I know, I know, I need to buy a coping skill and act my age. Plus, I really want to get home to see my puppy who has been an angel since we left (and on whom I check constantly via webcam and phone--for the record, I am speaking with her trainer and not her).  Every dog that walks by makes me think about her and wonder what she might be doing and if she will remember me when we return.  I also want to return to some sort of schedule where dinner falls well before 8pm and the children's bedtime does not gravitate to sometime around 11pm.  I do not, however, want to deal with selling the house, coordinating that with the purchase of the next house, the packing, the stress (mine), the tears (my daughter's) and the two plus day long trek back here where I don't want to leave in the first place.

There are always choices to be made in life and tonight I am choosing to embrace my inner child and tantrum away because the waves are just so soothing and my life is just so frantic right now.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Road Trip

After just having spent close to 28 hours in a car over the course of two days, I have absolutely no idea how or why the RV industry could be doing so well.  I have spoken to people who really enjoy this type of long distance travel, people who actually enjoy piling their children and their belongings into their car and going 'roadtripping.' I just don't get it.  I just survived (barely) a 28 hour car trip over the course of two days and if I never have to get back in that car again, it will be too soon for me.  Triathletes have nothing on me as I have gone the distance while listening to the same four DVDs over 1300 miles all while meting out various sorts of reprimands, answering hundreds of questions (many having just been asked by a sibling) and doling out snacks faster than a street vendor during the Feast of St. Anthony.

We arrived in darkness to the smell of the ocean and the waves crashing to the shore.  In order to survive the busy, over-scheduled week ahead, I am choosing to lose myself in that moment and not dwell on the fact that, at the end of the week, I need to make that hell-ride one more time.

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Rider

When one of my boys was little, he had a speech disorder and while I will not bore you with the clinical details, getting him to speak eventually was quite a journey filled with lots of tears (mine) and lots of effort and hard work (his).  By three years old, he could say only a few words and string together no more than two, but one day as we drove past a stable, he said 'me ride horse' and I almost drove off the road.  Once I got over the initial shock and joy of what has just transpired, I questioned him wondering whether he had really understood what had come of of his precious little mouth.  He had and he was emphatic. He wanted to ride a horse and despite my fear and trepidation, if he want to and he had said so, I was going to get him on a horse.

I drove back to that very stable, interviewed the instructor and found out that there was a camp coming up for three to five-year-olds--a perfect opportunity to try the sport.  Terrified on so many levels, I signed him up but at least a tiny portion of my fear dissolved when I saw the look of sheer happiness on his face the first time those tiny legs straddled that huge animal.  To this day, seven and a half years later, he has the same look as soon as he is riding. The transformation never ceases to amaze me, the way he goes from goofy teenager yammering about this or that video game to confident, poised and self-controlled rider.  We have been told time and again from instructors and show judges that he rides 'like an adult' and we could not be more proud of his riding achievements.  Of course, when he got in the car after his lesson this evening and he told us that 'he loved the smell of manure at the barn on a Friday night,' I know he is still our boy.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Pink Raincoat

While I certainly cannot complain about the amazingly warm winter we have been having, the rain today, coupled with my already gray mood, has made me a tad cranky.  Because my canine pal expects her mid-day walk regardless of my varying moods, I pulled myself away from my chores and got out her pink raincoat.  Now, I am not a fan of clothing my dog but the raincoat is an absolute necessity as her fleece-like fur retains each and every drop of water that hits it and she takes forever to dry.  She, however, would rather risk the drying time than wear the coat although she does not put up one bit of resistance-- unless you count the death-stare looks she gives me.  I have often verbalized to her that no one is looking at her and that she should be happy that she will stay dry, but I think she feels otherwise.  I silently prayed that the weather would keep the foot traffic to a minimum, but it seems I found each and every runner out there and each one, as they blew passed us, made some sort of comment about that darned raincoat further fueling Phoebe's annoyance. It was not a fun walk at all.

I did not think I could get any more cranky but as I went to clean up her 'deposit,' I realized that during her morning walk my son had ripped the bag off the roll at its midpoint (not the perforated end) which left me with a lovely purple plastic bracelet but no sealed bag.  As the rain came down further soaking me, my pants and my glasses, rendering them almost useless, out of the corner of my eye I caught Phoebe smirking.  Now I know that look as my teenage son gives it to me all the time--that 'ha ha' look who has the last laugh kind of look.  I chose not to respond to her, however, I took the high-road and not the bait because I hold the trump card.  The other day, I found the fuzzy bunny ears she wore for Easter last year.  I think in a few weeks I will be having the last laugh, don't you think?  Can you say 'photo op,' Phoebe?

Monday, March 5, 2012

Interest In Pinterest

I have developed a strange obsession with a new (or at least new to me) website called Pinterest which is an online pin board.  Don't get it?  Neither did I at first because I just could not understand why anyone would get excited about a virtual bulletin board. The entire concept is somewhat foreign and unrealistic in the real world but, in a virtual one, it takes on a whole new dimension.  For instance, while I would never visit a friend and start removing and copying funny items or recipes from the bulletin board above her desk, online I could do just that and more--without being looked upon as strange to boot!  Pinterest enables members to post items to their virtual boards under any number of headings such as fashion, humor, food or any almost any other topic you can imagine.  Then you can scroll through the boards and pick and choose items of interest and post them to your board.  One of the best features is that when you click on a picture, you are taken directly to the site for the recipe or the instructions for a craft.  See it, like it, make it--never been easier.  The member also has the ability to 'pin' (think virtually cut out a picture) from other websites and post them as well.  I have even seen 'pin it' icons showing up on sites I frequent making the process all the easier.

The reason for mentioning this site tonight is that I have had a really stressful afternoon what with a new teenager blaming me for all that has gone wrong in his life, homework issues and sibling arguments (and this was all before we even walked in the door from school).  It seems that Pinterest has become a calming mechanism for me, a great way to spend five or ten minutes that requires no thought at all.  The site has a humor section that never fails to make me laugh and I often find myself pinning and emailing the jokes and photos to family and friends.  I figured that in today's stress-filled world, everyone could use a little mindless fun now and again so I thought I would share.  Happy pinning!