The big event at our house today...

Just what I needed...

Good times

Tonight was our very casual backyard bonfire "farewell" for Alex. Next Friday is nephew's wedding; the following Wednesday we head in to the metro to spend the day and night, then drop her at the airport at 6am on Thursday. It goes by fast.
Neighbors, church friends and family gathered for a lovely evening outside. We finally burned through most of our branches, etc. Boys being boys however, it was decided that bigger is better:



We'll miss Alex. How can you not miss such a classy lady?

I just wanna bang on me drum all day...

Had a nice day today. Picked up MIL and went to a shower for nephew's bride to be. It was a lovely time with all my girl Things and friends and family; we had your typical brunch and presents sort of affair. We got MIL home safely, came home and changed into grubbies and started in on housework and supper. The whole family was home for supper for once, and we visited and had a lovely time. The phone rang about 6:30 for me. It was Job 2. I should have been there at 5. I completely spaced off going to work. Luckily, it wasn't very busy and the worst consequence was some serious razzing when I got there. I felt pretty stupid, though. It stayed slow, so I headed to MIL's about 9:45, where iPastor and I had some recliner and TV time before he headed home to tend the kiddies. Now its quiet here, and I have access to Food Network. ALton Brown calls, so I bid you adieu.

Minnesota's state bird

The kids' group from church had a little campout tonight. My kids are miffed that they can't stay over due to a bridal shower for nephew's wedding, but the park is so close I let them go out for festivities tonight. We've had a week of rain, and the mosquitoes hatched with a vengeance. it was absolutely stupid how thick they were. They kids were coated with OFF and still came home looking like lepers with so many welts on them. Yikes. They had a blast though.
A couple more job interviews next week. Woot!

Bloggable moments

So the other say I lost my keys. I retraced my steps again and again. I went back to look in the car, where I most likely tossed them. I was now 20 minutes late, and Thing 4 was cranky; if I went to look in the house he'd follow me in and whine, then he'd follow me out to the car when I looked there and whine come more. I was worked up to a pretty good lather when I heard the friendly voice of the Cosmic Junkie greeting Thing 1 from across the lawn where he was retrieving tools from storage in the neighboring shed. "How's it goin'?" he asked, and I blurted "Sh*tty." as I dumped a bag onto the seat to search its contents, and dumped my sad, sorry story on the ol' CJ. "I can't find my keys." "You mean those keys there?" he said, pointing to the keys that absolutely WERE NOT THERE (or in that bag of aforementioned junk) THREE SECONDS PREVIOUSLY. I just gaped at him and shook my head. ""Just here to help." he said, and ambled off. Darndest thing.

Wordless Wednesday

So what's all this about retirement?

Lessons learned

We were back at Home Depot this morning. The reel mower we bought last time really does cut like crazy, but we need a new weed whip, too. After hemming and hawing a bit, we decided to forego the $30 electric start. Wrong answer. I can't get the bugger started by myself. Despite the diminutive hausfrau using the tool in the picture on the box, the dang thing needs a harder pull than I have in me to fire up. Maybe a hot, muscular body builder. In my case, it was the old, chain-smoking dad of the neighbor with the Minnesota belly. Once the neighbor got it cranked for me, I whipped like a madwoman until the string broke and I had to turn it off to fix it. Then I couldn't get it going again. Rats. Oh well, guess next time we'll just have to hire me a hot young gardener...

Monday Again

Funny how it keeps rolling around. Did 2 shifts with MIL, with a bout 10 minutes in between to make supper and shove some laundry through at home. No big changes. More of the same. Bleah.

Nonissue

For cryin' out loud... Rather than try to explain all this, I will send you here and here to see for yourself. In the comments section of the Tribune, someone asks whether this man would have the same problem if his name were Johnson. They don't know how close to the truth they are. I am not very proud of my city government right now.

Saturday checklist

Scrub basement floor. Check.
Mulch one more flowerbed. Check.
Blow tire on van. Check.
Leave donut at home. Check.
Trade vehicle with iPastor. Check.
Lose brakes on pickup. Check.
Go to bed and start over. In progress...

Charity?

It's funny what illness brings out in people. MIL has been inundated with food and offers of help. I just cleaned her fridge (AGAIN!) and tossed various bits and blobs of food. Most people have been really gracious. Case in point: last year MIL took bids to pave her decrepit blacktop driveway. The contractor hemmed, hawed and didn't show up until about 3 weeks ago. When he was done, he came in to check with MIL who said, "Are you gonna send me the bill?" to which he replied, "No, I think God's telling me to donate it." He went on to say he wasn't sure, but who wants to take that chance. ;)
Then there are those other responses. There was the lady who stopped me at work to ask about MIL. " I need to bring her carmel rolls," she said, "She loves my carmel rolls." I replied that indeed she does, and she had a pan earlier in the week. "Someone else brought them?" she said, "well I know she craves MY rolls, so I'll have to bring some by." Oh my.
Most people are very kind, though. Our pastor's wife decided WE needed some TLC and brought us Tuesday suppers for a month. It was much appreciated, and helped to take a little bit of hectic out of our lives. Hopefully I can pay that back some day.

All the cool kids are doing it...

Curse you Groovy Mom and FlipFlopBossyBritchesRockerMom. Peer pressure is awful.



Anyway, this is the result of my first outing at Singsnap. I had to do some futzing with my technical settings, which in my case means putting the speaker closer to the mic and standing in different places to not overblow the mic. I think at one point you can hear our cat, Fuzznut, on background vocals. I guess I need to add to my timewaster list.
(plus the transvestite picture for Jeff's amusement)

A little late for Memorial Day but...

...this one smacked me in the face while browsing tonite. Lifted from FARK.com, titled "Two Kinds of Goodbye." Ouch. Click to embiggen and read text.

10 on Tuesday: Time Wasters

Oh, dear...

I could lump them all together under one Evil Category: The Internet. If I did that, however, I'd have to come up with nine others, so I'll list my biggest time wasters from the 'net, and maybe some real life stuff, too.

1. Blog reading. Of course I read all your blogs to gain valuable information and pearls of wisdom from them, so that's really time well spent, non?
2. Scrabulous. Just one more match...
3. Rand Mc Nally Road trip planner. I spend more time planning trips than we actually spend on the trips when we finally take them.
4. My firepit. I can diddle out there for hours burning various and sundry bits of stuff from the yard (for recreational purposes of course, because of course I know it's illegal to burn yard waste) but unfortunately, it never seems to improve the condition of the yard.
5. iTunes. I can always find something to look for. Lots of performance tracks to browse. Interesting podcasts to subscribe. Bad.
6. icanhascheezburger.com
7. fark.com
8. YouTube
9. startribune.com
10. My bathtub. Soapy warm bubbles calling to me...

OMG!

I was trolling trough old blogs to find posts for the blogstock book. On a lark, I typed in an ID I thought might lead to my very first blog, and lo and behold, I found posts from August to December of 2001. It said I had last posted in 2007, but I think I was using the same domain but posting with other apps. I had blogger set up to use the template but post remotely to our site. I need to reconfigure it to post to blogger, because I can currently only access the posts through the editor. Watch for a linky. Or maybe not. The posts might suck.

Stormy Sunday

Morning Thunderstorms rolled through before church today. They were actually rather nice thundershowers; except for the mugginess it's been nice today.
***
The extra time at MIL's has been good for catching up on movies. MIL has DirecTV. Last night iPastor took the batch that had not yet seen Indiana Jones to see it; the rest of us watched Pirates...III. Then I watched Next and Pride and Prejudice before I finally pried myself off the couch and went to bed. Sweet. Tonight I hope to get some reading and paperwork done. There are a million things I should be getting done at home before I go, so I'd best get back at them.

Update 6:45pm.

Whoa. Counting blessings today... Prayers for these folks. So far no deaths reported. Let's hope it stays that way. AP just reported one while I typed. Poop. Enjoy your weekend folks, while remembering these people.

Gone with the wind

As could have been predicted, my apple trees bloomed this week, thereby guaranteeing strong winds to blow the blossoms off. Oh well.
***
Weekend has blown away, too. No-one else is available to stay with MIL, so our family is tag-teaming around work, and we are going nowhere that we had hoped. Alex also has strained ligaments in her ankle, so she is puffed up and sore, so it would have been awkward to get out to Arnold's Park or anywhere else. I did want iPastor to get over to Home Depot for a mower, though. We're working on knee high by the fourth of July in the yard. While we were out, someone came by and helped mow a little. I had asked kids to clean up the yard in anticipation of the mowing. They did not comply, so whoever helped mowed around the junk. Around the bikes. Around the lawn chair. It's fairly hilarious. Time to tag off with iPastor.

No go

The job hunt continues. Drat.
Not much else going on. Two job day today, then our family spends Saturday with Elsie. Should be a nice weekend. Enjoy yours.

Nervous Nellie

I think the interview went well. It felt good. It's a VERY small district (this year's grad class was 25) but that's very cool. Until they decide to consolidate, anyway... The good news is that they hope to decide by tomorrow, or early next week at the latest, depending on when they can get references called. Nice not to have to be on pins and needles too much longer.

This is weird...

So I've mentioned before that we have a MAME. It looks something like this:


Imagine cords and a keyboard coming out of the coin slots on the front of the machine (Thing #4 refers to this as the "Big Bachine") Imagine typing on this keyboard while manipulating the various trackballs, fire buttons and joysticks to navigate the internet. This is what happens when my kids hog my computer... I suppose it IS their turn, after all, but still...
***
I hd a lovely little allegory last week when I was too frenzied to type about it. iPastor and I were bringing dogs in out of the rain. He brought in Tiger, and unleashed him and his furry, mud-encrusted paws while he went back for another dog. Needless to say, I had big, muddy pawprints all over my floor. He wandered all through the downstairs before heading to the mudroom for food and his bed. Had iPastor left the leash on, he would have guided Tiger right to the same spot, much quicker and with less collateral damage. How much like that are we? Humans have a guide, or "leash" if you will, in the Bible and it's commandments. When we stick to them, things go much better for us. When we "free" ourselves from that yoke, we make a big mess of things lalong the way home. Often, we wind up back at a save haven, but not before we've muddied our path quite a bit. Just a little something for y'all to chew on. (Don't worry, I'm not after JD's pulpit...)
***
Decided exactly what I wanted to wear for the interview tomorrow, then tried t on (Thankfully!) to discover it looked like crap because it doesn't fit right. So off to the Evil*Empire I went, where nothing they had fit, either. Did find something I liked in the wrong size. So it goes... Managed to scrape together an outfit; got it in the wash ready to press and go first thing in the morning. This interview is 37 miles away, which is relatively close when talking rural school districts. Better get my loose ends tied up before morning. Nite!

Tuesday, Grommit...

Didn't get much of anything done. Started to putter around the house, but got called to MIL's. Had a nice visit, watched Dr. Phil's brat camp (my kids look like angels in comparison) then came home. In the meantime, I got an email to go for a job interview Thursday. Yay. Now to find clothes that fit...

Woohoo!

Only one job days all week until Friday, and I actually get all day tomorrow off! What'll I do with myself? No more dishes; my hands are hashed.
A job in the neighboring school district came up on the boards today. Our little town actually sits within both districts, so we have two different buses go through town every day. Our first exchange student went to that school because we were out of openings at our school. I would love to find something so close in the neighborhood. The next closest one I've seen is half time, the next is 37 miles. Anyway, keep praying on the job situation for me. I want to make sure I go where I'm supposed to, and I hope to be able to discern where exactly that is.
I'm either hearing a really echo-y nailgun or a dog with a weird bark. Maybe both. Someone is working on re-roofing the decrepit little store downtown. They keep some weird hours.

Day of rest my foot

Had a gorgeous day here that I used to try to catch up the stuff I couldn't get done earlier in the week. Tried to rally the kids for some help but that was an exercise in futility. They were too enamored of the nice weather themselves to be much help. One helped finish with mulching of a flowerbed, and the other made a small pile of yard clippings that never got picked up and disposed of. I sat in the shade and shaved a dog. Poor thing couldn't see. The winter coat was pretty thick, not unlike shearing a sheep. Now all the other dogs will make fun of his bad haircut. Hopefully by July he'll be grown out enough so I won't be ashamed to take him to Marilyn for a real cut. Did some trimming and clipping in the yard, and tried to get my garage-sale trimmer to start. Pastor Bob will check it out for me tomorrow. The yard is nearly ready to bale, so I may as well wait. Off to herd the cranky kids to bed. Best bet is to let cranky mom get there first.

Done!

Two tired but happy dancers, and two parents chilled to the bone from standing directly under the AC vents in the back of the auditorium to produce the !*&@%&^!! dance video (that pays for the lessons...) Viscious circle.

Dance Mayhem

Two days of long rehearsals and two equally long shows. AWOL until Sunday...

Little things...

Today was full of little things. I didn't get anything big done, but lots of little things. Sent off two application packets. Mulched a flowerbed. Wrangled kids for some help in the yard. Scrubbed the basement stairs. Did some laundry. Worked a little. Looks nice when I write it all down.
***
Little things also have a way of surprising you. Something like writing the date. Like yesterday. It happens every year. Writing a check, dating a paper, I suddenly realize its May 14. The day my dad died. 26 years ago. It always catches me off guard. The I feel guilty. Because I don't remember what day my mom died. I know it was the first half of December 1989. Maybe because she died a sanitized death in a nursing home hundreds of miles from me or anyone else in her family, rather than collapsing in front of me. I don't know. It makes me feel bad. I owe her more than that.
***
We're supposed to be compiling favorite blog posts for a book of Blogstock attendees. I've been cranking out such drivel for the sake of Blog 365, and previously NaBloPoMo, that I can't think of any favorites. Do you guys have any? Look back in the archive linkies, or comment if you liked the one where I wrote about ________. I'm supposed to send them by May 23rd, so be snappy about it, would ya?

Hump day.

So how ya been? Busy here as always. Had choir concert for the oldest girls and worked most every day. Been sending out resumes and having phone interviews. Sleeping lots. It's a good thing.
Not much to report. iPastor's mom is no better, but no worse either. She came along to the concert.
I've been tucking some bloggable bits (tm) in the back of my brain to drag out later, but I'm tired and want to go to bed! Nite!

10 on Tuesday

Today's topic: Ten things I'm really good at
Hard to do this with a sense of humility... Oh well, I'll take a shot at it.

1. Singing
2. Acting
3. Making really beautiful children
4. Embarrassing those children in public
5. Prepared public speaking (impromptu, not so much, but I can do it in a pinch)
6. Planning trips. I love randmcnally.com, hotwire.com and sidestep.com
7. Napping anywhere. Car, mall, you name it, I can get comfy and catch a few zzzzz
8. Eating. For you D&D geeks out there, I have a plus 2 cast iron stomach of holding.
9. Taking care of the elderly. I got out of it, but I rock at it.
10. Making up songs for my kids.

That was hard. Try it and see.

Insightful...

Why are married women heavier than single women?
Single women come home, look in the fridge, then go to bed.
Married women look in the bed, then go to the fridge.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today dawned sunny and with much more promise than yesterday. Job 2 was an absolute riot; full speed ahead from the word go. Everyone was out for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, in one instance this included a family with grandma, two couples and seven overtired and cranky children. Those poor kids did amazingly well, considering the protracted wait. The only exception was the apx. two-year-old girl screaming her lungs out for the majority of their stay. We brought crackers, fruit snacks and colors, but that little one was too far gone. Grandma looked too frail to be much help, but dad could have taken her out to the car. As it was, the Moms' "special" meal consisted of lots of "Whisper!" "Sit down!!" "Eat your food before you get a treat." kissing pinched fingers and wiping spilled water. Their Mother's Day next year had better include the dads staying home with the kids while the mom's pick up grandma and head out for cocktails ALONE.
One of my most interesting Mother's Days was iPastor watching the kids so I could take my cruiser to test and tune at the track, then head over to Watertown to race. Very thoughtful.
When I got home, I got out and started a fire in the pit while I cleaned up the yard a little. Then I got my hands dirty and planted the tomatoes and peppers I started earlier. Then I had a lovely bubble bath to get the smoke smell from the fire off me!
My kids had their first adventure biking the seven miles to town. I may never see them again. Argh. They have tasted freedom under their own power.
Off to bed now. Job hunt starts in earnest tomorrow.

Rainy

Nasty, dreary cold rain all day today. Yuck. Job 1 was very slow, but we spent our time cleaning and prepping for tomorrow. After Mother's Day, Job 1 isn't open Sundays until fall. Yay!
I am too tired to come up with anything good to post. Maybe tomorrow.

Craziness comes in assorted flavors

So, the classroom work is done. Now time for the paperwork. Also, while I was out turning in finals, I got a call for an interview. Cool.
iPastor has been holding down the homefront. We survived prom. We've done several with exchange students. Hopefully a couple years until my own need to go, unless they start dating upperclassmen. Thing 1 already has her prom dress picked out. She needs to save her pennies, though, because it's this:

The kid has taste, now she needs a date who'll wear a kilt well.
Off to catch up on the neglected stuff around here.

Frazzled

So what's new? Still plugging on school until later tomorrow. Then maybe I can poke my head up for air.

Still writing

That's about it. Got an extension. The light is at the end of the tunnel...

Better...

After work I had a lovely soak in the tub, then went to lie down for a few minutes and wound up sleeping the clock around. I sound like heck, but I feel much better. Now off to write.

Sick

Like I needed this on top of everything else.

Sunshine!

Got MIL into the car and headed to the local drive-in and out for a ride around the lake. Now it's off to Job2 and then to wait for the "bring me home from After-Prom party" call.

Lost Friday

Often when I am working at job 1, there is quiet time when I compose lovely posts in my head while I clean and stock. Think I can ever come up with these gems while I'm at a keyboard?
Worked two jobs today, ran home for a change of clothes, now I am at MIL's for the night. Her keyboard has a gitchy M, so spellcheck lights up like the proverbial Christmas tree. I am completely uninspired tonight, so I'm off Bloghopping.

MayDay!

Indeed. Many meanings to that word. School work got completely sidetracked yesterday, but iPastor and I got some really good time in to explore some stuff, and just catch up on the mundane details of life.
Right in the middle of my finals crunch, I got a very positive and entirely unsettling follow-up call on an interview I had at the job fair. No firm offer, but a really good vibe that opens up a can o' worms, because it involves a move. A big move. Trying very hard not to overthink this, and to keep a careful eye and ear to any leading I am getting. Prayers along these lines are appreciated.
Alex has Prom #2 this weekend, and we are so scattered and hectic I hope we don't lose too much in the shuffle.
Thing 3 helped her brother take care of May Baskets this evening. They had a good time. Cute as bugs. No pics this year, though.
Off to reboot for tomorrow.

Still plugging

Got the assignment posted for online class, now I'm off for a two-job day. Looking at another late night/early morning combo, but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. More tomorrow, maybe from MIL's. Hopefully, they'll head to their lake place for the night instead. She's really looking forward to getting out and about a bit, so I hope the weather cooperates.

Countdown...

I pulled my first all-nighter in years. I think the last one was 2004 when I had a final project for my speech methods class due. Technically, this was a "most-nighter"; I did get a nap from 3-5 am. I got the project and paper done, and by comparison with what I saw in class it should fare pretty well grade-wise. I cranked out some discussion posts for the online class, watched part of Jane Eyre in authors class, got free pizza at the final NTSO meeting, then crashed on the couch in the NTSO lounge for nearly three hours. Yay couch! I pulled my brain back together, ate some leftover pizza, gathered some online sources for the medium-sized paper, then went to night class. I have really enjoyed that class, but I feel bad because we are all so draggy by the time we get there. Got home safe and sane, and snuggled in for a family movie and some alone time with iPastor. Not a bad day overall. Just don't like having to cram so many crazy days in a row.

Hell week

It's finals time. AAAAUUUUUUUGHHH!
One week of class left. Four classes to wrap. One assignment, one quiz, three small papers, one medium paper, various deadlines, eight shifts at various jobs, a couple shifts with MIL and peripherally monitoring the household (iPastor is taking the bulk of that for now, Thank God!) until Tuesday, May 6 at 8pm when the last two papers are due. Yikes. I hardly have time to be doing this, but sanity must also be prioritized! ;) Off to crank out the paper and project due tomorrow.

Homeward bound

After service this morning we'll hit the road home, where I have to finish the resource unit I did not work on in my free time here. (I really did have a use for the laptop...) The sun is out and it promises to be a beautiful ride home. Hoping to save some stories for the dearth of quality content once finals start rolling in. ;) Happy trails!

Saturday

The speaker has been starting out the sessions with excerpts from this little book. Very cute, and good for a laugh. She follows up with awesome teaching. Lots of good things to say. She's also written a devotional based around my Bible-reading format of choice (an OT & NT selection and Psalm or Proverb each day) so I bought myself one as a present. Found the kids some trinkets out thrifting (new-with-tags!) and watched a fun video from this gal before bed. I need more days like this! (without the four-hour drive to get here.)

Retreat!

We left home in a miserable, cold rain and headed east to drop Alex off for her prom in Buffalo Lake. Just as we dropped her off, Julie's husband called to tell us it was snowing so hard at ome that he couldn't see across the yard. By then, the rain for us had slowed to occasional drizzle or mist, and that's how it stayed until we got to Austin, home of the Spam museum. Think I'll skip that and go thrifting. We have an awesome speaker named Kathy Slamp. After the first service, I met up with the Oskalosa farkle champ and we had a game. Too much fun. Now it's time for bed. Gotta sneak back to the room like a penitent teenager. I wanted to bring the laptop for free wireless, but iPastor had other plans.
Nite!

Like sands through the hourglass...

These days slip by so fast; I blink and they're gone. Went to school, then off to stay with MIL. In between, I have to get ready for women's retreat this weekend. I am ready this year. I need a battery recharge to last through the next few months.

Oh dear...

I met up with family after our various shifts at work or with MIL. iPastor had taken Thing 1 to the Evil*Empire. She and her sister soon came down to model her new shorts. SHORT shorts. Driver's ed is coming up this summer. Short shorts. A booty to put in them. Oy. I am so OLD.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's ten on Tuesday: Ten things I love about my life.
I tend to blog about how hectic my life is; the "I can't believe that just happened" moments or the crazy hoops we jump through to make ends meet. Despite these occasional rantings, there is a lot in my life to be happy about. If I sit and reflect, I feel mostly content. Although the reasons may be a bit difficult to articulate, I'll give it a shot.

Ten Things I Love About My Life:

1. I serve an awesome God, and I am saved by His grace.
2. iPastor rocks. He's been my partner in crime (and punishment) for 17 years. We've had typical spousal highs and lows, but I have never for one second questioned his commitment to our family. To beat a cliche to death, he is as constant as the north star. He drives me batty some days, but I don't know what I'd do without him. And he shares his Ben and Jerry's with me. That's love.
3. My kids rock. They are the funniest, smartest, most talented young people I know, and it is a delight watching them grow, although I wish they wouldn't do it so darned fast.
4. My church rocks. There is not a person there who would not come immediately to our (or anyone else's) aid if we had a need. We have conservatives and liberals, and everything in between, all believing on the promises of the Bible and hanging out, studying the word, and enjoying each other's company.
5. We are part of a huge extended family. My kids have a whole network of people that love them and care about them. It is so cool to have allies in life.
6. Spring is here. The yard is greening up, I can get out in it and dig or just sit in a sunbeam and soak it up. I have a fire pit and an Adirondack chair, and I'm not afraid to use 'em.
7. I am almost done with school. Really. Finally. I mean it this time. I can see it from here.
8. I can start looking for a teaching job.
9. My dogs are always happy to see me. The cats are, too, I suspect, but they'll never let on.
10. I am a blogger. I can dump my junk here, happy, frustrated or mad, and someone out there can connect with it. Some even connect enough to leave a comment. I can share a word of encouragement or a joke with someone maybe thousands of miles away, or right next door. Having this outlet helps make my life great.
10.

Happy Birthday Thing 2!!

My little clone turns 14 today. Not so little anymore, I guess; she's just as tall as I. She's about half as big around, though.
She has blossomed into a quirky comedienne. Although she could hardly get a word in edgewise, she's never been one to stand serenely in the background. Thing 1 loved to sing and perform for the camera when she was tiny. Thing 2, did, too, with a little help. We have a home video of Thing 1 performing, when along comes Thing 2, shoves her firmly out of the way, and takes the stage for herself. Thing 2 writes fan fiction and illustrates comics in her spare time. She is developing into a lovely young lady before my very eyes. Happy Birthday, Thing 2, Mama loves her baby...

Home stretch

Tagged off with iPastor this morning, headed for church, then work, then home to my pit of a house where I struggled unsuccessfully to enlist some help before coffee hour at church. That failed miserably, so I concentrated on enjoying the fellowship. Upon returning home, it was discovered that Alex had not yet seen The Princess Bride, a cultural omission that was immediately corrected. So we did get something important accomplished.
Now it's time to crank out papers and projects. I only have to drive to school 4 more times. I have no written finals, just papers to turn in, so it's time to shift into overdrive.

Tired

Spent most of the day with MIL. When iPastor woke up after night shift, he came and I went home and did 15 minutes worth of yard work and took a lovely bubble bath , then headed off to job2. Now I am back for the overnight.
On the way home Monday from the hospital with MIL, we made a gas/potty stop. I was in the back with all her bags, so I grabbed what looked like a grey sweatshirt off the top of one of her bags to wear into the gas station. I had to wrestle quite a bit to get it on; it seemed rather long When I finally got into the bathroom, I noticed the problem. It was a housecoat. Everyone else wears their jammies to WalMart, I may as well take it a step further.

Topsy turvey

Blogging from MIL's house. We're tag-teaming with her boyfriend to make sure someone is here 24/7. So far so good. She tires out easily, but she's glad to be home. We're glad she's here.

Insidious

We have a MAME. It's iPastor's toy, so I don't always pay a lot of attention to it. It has a lot of great old games on it from our misspent youth. Thing 4 likes it. He's been running around the house humming a little ditty from a game. Imagine this:
but in a sweet little boy voice. It's lodged firmly in my brain. Curse you, Pengo, curse you!

Wordless Wednesday

Windy

So the part of the state where I go to school is notorious for wind. The ante was upped a bit today. I ran out to the bread store between classes to stock up for the freezer, and their door had ripped right off the hinges. When I returned to campus, the doors where I came in had been banging so hard that the strut between them broke. It was hard driving into it in the morning, but the wind pushed me home.
Got back to town just in time to wait for the dancing girls to finish their pictures. My least favorite day of the year. Hard to herd all those kids into all those outfits and pose them. Got home late. Time for bed!

Jiggety jig

iPastor and I buzzed into the cities and stopped for a quick visit with Elsie. We checked into our hotel, then tried to decide where the heck to eat. We decided to walk down the Nicollet Mall to Market BarBCue unless something better caught our eye. We'd had a great day at job one, but that put us on the road late and some places were closing, not to mention those "bar and grill" establishments that chose to remain closed on Sundays. We did go all the way to Market, which was pretty good, but not up to Famous Dave's standards according to iPastor. I could not convince him to stay for karaoke (though it sounded like they had some good singers) so we headed back, and got to watch the late WCCO broadcast news from the back. Who knew they kept the lines looking nice on a lady's jacket with a big black binder clip in back?
This morning I went to the cattle call education job fair while Kyle got his mom squared away. Her sisters took her partway out of the city while he picked me up, then we met up with them and brought her home and got through the initial visit with hospice. She is so happy to be home! We're happy she's here. A good birthday gift for iPastor.
Happy Birthday to my favorite movie star, now appearing on DVD in the role of "Blurry Hands"

Happy Anniversary to Me!

iPastor and I are off for a few hours away from the kids.
WHeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Hey...

How did this day go by so fast?

So it goes

The weekend is bearing down fast. I'll work Saturday night, then lunch on Sunday, then we will leave for the metro for an anniversary evening out. We've just learned that while I am at the ed fair on Monday, iPastor can meet up with his mom and ride along as her boyfriend brings her home. She's been hospitalized since March 2. We're ready to have her back, and face the road ahead together.
For now, it's been a two job day and I'm shot. nitey nite

More Slop

Really wet, rainy, windy snow playing havoc with the internet connection tonite. Getting ready for the weekend. Lotsa jobs, then off to Mpls. for the education job fair. Pray for a job for me!
Otherwise, we seem to be passing a bug around the house again. I am desperate for open window weather to banish the germs with fresh air. Yuk.
Off to bed now!

This never happens...

iPastor and I both have the evening off, as does Thing 1. No school or church activities. I'm gonna go hang with the fam!

Blogger in draft.

Ooooh. Blogger has more toys. I need to keep from mucking around in the dashboard and playing with all the widgets. Time sink. Bad.
***
Seen around campus...

Why would a custodian-type person, find or be otherwise informed of a puddle on the floor, go get the "Wet Floor" signs to place around the puddle, but not bring the mop to wipe it up?
***
I am reading a rather hateful book for Gender and Sexuality in Literature class. I spent some time this afternoon Googling up the author, Edmund White. Rather, um, interesting. But better than the book. Of course, I went off on linky tangents and wound up checking out pictures of Alan Rickman, as well, but those are the hazards of Googling. One of my classmates in the aforementioned class is currently teaching a class in which he has his students Google themselves partly "Because it sounds kinda dirty to tell someone you googled yourself in class..." We take our fun where we can get it, I guess.

***
iPastor is off for the day at his mom's care conference. Hoping for some encouraging news when he comes home. Since we're down to one car I had to hitch a ride to school this morning. Not too big a deal, as the aforementioned classmate is from my hometown, so it all works out in a lovely little serendipitous kinda way.

News

So when I got to work yesterday the boss was watching this.
What's the world coming to when people are getting their butts kicked by turkeys? Gotta be a sign of the apocalypse or something.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

iPastor ran to the Evil*Empire and got dessert for potluck, saving me a drive or baking session, so he rocks. After potluck we both had the day off and just puttered around the house.
The secondary vehicle broke down, and is too old and beat up to bother with fixing. We paid $200 for it 4 years ago, so we've gotten more than our fair share of use out of it. It has so many nickel and dime problems I'd hate to fix the one and then be faced with the rest. I'll probably get back what I paid for it at the junk yard. Now we have to be even more serious about carpooling and bike riding until we can replace it with something reliable. Gotta keep the other one in running order as well, it's getting to that questionable age. Yikes. Better keep working!

Pooped v2.0

Two job day today, tomorrow is potluck and we're on for dessert. One of us has special music tomorrow as well, but I can't remember who, so I need to throw something together just in case. I think it's actually Thing 2's turn, but she may not have anything prepared, even though we talked about it earlier in the week.
I need to go get ready for Sunday. TTFN

I'm Old

Thing 2 has her 8th grade formal tonite. Pictures when I get them uploaded.

Spring is in the air, mud is on my floor

The sun is out and the temp is heading to the mid 50's. Thing 4 and I wandered aimlessly around the yard for a while, picking up garbage uncovered by the melting snow. I made the calculated decision to have muddy dogs and put them out in the sunniest (least wet) part of the yard for a while. They were just itching for OUTSIDE! The neighbors are out trying to rake down their parking ruts, while their kid wheels around the yard in the battery-operated jeep that Thing 4 covets. We have an old one in the shed; I should see if it could be resurrected. We need to do a little "goin' fishing"to get the shed cleaned out, meaning the trailer needs to be hauled, meaning the hauling vehicle needs to be emptied, yada yada yada.
I returned to the bike store yesterday with the two older Things in tow and found a couple of used bikes for them. Now we can pass down a bike to Thing 3 and remove the various bike bits from the aforementioned shed. I have learned my lesson about buying bikes from the Evil*Empire. They fall apart.
Time for another shift in the yard. Can't pass this weather up...

I ::heart:: Runnings

Runnings is a regional Fleet and Farm outlet. We buy lawn mower blades and occasional bunnies there. They have been expanding lately, whenever possible buying old Wal*Mart buildings. Our town is no exception, and the corporate moving crew is in town moving them across the road from the old store to the new. They put them up in hotels and feed them all over town for a week. They've been at job 2 twice this week. Tonite my tab for them was over $400. They tipped VERY generously. I can pay for my online class this week! Woot! Off to bed. Just submitted homwork for said class and I am sleepy!

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is Ten Things You’d Fix in Your Home (if you had the time and money) If time and money were of no concern, there are only a few things I'd do around my house:

1. Apply turpentine to floor
2. Light a match
3. Throw it in
4. Move to Florida

Again with the snow...

The Crazy Hip Blog Mamas asked about our thoughts on the end of winter and approach of spring. We woke this morning to a new coating of wet, sticky, white stuff. It was no surprise, as the local weather sensationalizers were forecasting 3-7" in the metro. So far, we've only gotten about an inch. The dogs love to walk in it; the snow is the right depth and consistency for them to leave perfect little paw prints on the road.
As much as I hate winter, I kind of like spring snow. When winter looms out ahead of me, promising nothing but bitter cold, dark, and high propane bills, I get really depressed. In March, I know the snow won't last long. We got 11 inches last week, and it's long gone. Today's accumulation will be gone by Wednesday, since tomorrow's forecast is sunshine and 37 degrees. In spring, I can enjoy snow because it does not threaten to smother me for three more months. The days are longer, the wind less bitter (though sometimes still pretty raw!) and the air holds the promise of warm days to come. Bring on April!

Dreary

The weather is mild, but gloomy. The grey clouds seem to stifle any life or energy I have. Bleah. iPastor was home to rally the troops, and Alex helped Thing 3 clean her room, so I came home from work to find progress. iPastor also went to the internet, Source of All Information, and found a way to rig a little homemade gizmo to improve our broadcast TV reception, so we have a couple more channels coming in well enough to watch out here in the boondocks. I'm all for PBS, but it gets a little old when that's ALL we can pull in. Now I'm off so Thing 1 can write a paper she put off all weekend. That apple is not far from the tree at all...

Now I've gone and done it...

...I went and bought a bike. I stopped at the local new and used bike shop, and for less than the cost of a tank of gas, I got myself a bike, complete with baskets and knobby tires. I'll pick it up Wednesday after they give it a once-over. I plan to ride it to and from work, weather permitting. With local gas prices at $3.24, it shouldn't take too long to see some benefit. Maybe my butt will see some benefit, too.

I got nothing...except a photo Friday

A run-of-the mill day here at Casa del Goose. Hung out this morning and got some housework done, then went to work both jobs and came home to find Thing 3 puking. Gave her some TLC until she got to sleep, then came here to waste some time. Tomorrow is a one-job Saturday! Woohoo. I've got papers to write, so I'll use my time wisely...right.
CHBM asked for "Kids in the Kitchen Pics." I like this one...

The narcissistic post

So, Groovy Mom and the Flip Flop Queen have been posting swell karaoke video. I posted some crappy video last year. I dig the app Groovy Mom uses, but my poor ol' Mac just isn't up to it. So, I poked around until I found something I thought would support the files I have. These are from a demo I did for a contest that required a demo (go figure...) Somewhere around here I have a live song from a Christmas concert I did, that I really like, but I need to go digging to find it. Argh. Anyway, let's see if this has been worth the time I wasted invested in it...
height=62 width=144 controls="console">

Hey, Mr. Peabody...

Guess the reference and win...I dunno, something I dig out of the basement storeroom.

For those who can pin down the reference, you will have prior knowledge of a device called the wayback machine. On the internet, the Wayback Machine does indeed exist to archive web content. I have bemoaned the lost website here on occasion, from the stupid domain host that dropped us like a hot potato out of the blue one day for "too much traffic." I think that may still be lost to the ether, but iPastor was playing around the other day and remembered the wayback machine, and pulled up some archived versions of the Firestorm site. Back then, the ol' bloggaroo was tagged on the back of that site. Here are some treats for your viewing pleasure. Count the Things for an idea of how old these tidbits are. Some of the pictures load, some do not, I don't know why, because they would have all been hosted the same. Oh well.

This was a fun little trip.

So was this.
And finally, some ranting, complete with potty mouth.
Go visit and dig around archive.org a bit. Almost as much fun as googling yourself, and doesn't sound as dirty...

Zzzzzz

Been spending my campus time today doing resume checks, signing up for job fairs, determining dates to take PraxisII, and all that lovely paperwork-type stuff. Drains a body. Makes my head tired.
Other than that, it's been schoolwork and trying not to eat every unclaimed item in the NTSO. What is up with that? All the munchies, none o' the fun...

Controlled Mayhem

So the kids had the day off school and I worked two jobs. Guess what got done around the house...

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed! Blessed Easter to all!
***
I'm beginning to wonder if I have a mild bug of some sort. I really zonked out last night, and I needed a nap this afternoon. Just feel worn and draggy. No fever or other symptoms, just shot.
***
I told Thing 2 to clean off her bed, and she has her whole room ripped apart in that "worse before it's better" stage of cleaning. Hate to stop her, but hope she doesn't fizzle out before she's done. Thing 1 did the same sort of job last week, and I think little sister likes how it turned out and is trying to follow suit. More power to her!
***
Off to do some work of my own. The sun is out, so I hate to miss it!

Slop

Still more snow today! Made for a sloppy run to the cities to visit Elsie. Stopped very briefly at Borders and Target on the way home. Got back about 9 and I am shot. Highway hypnosis is a drag; I get all warm and lulled by the drone of the motor and my brain feels like mush. Now to sleep it off.

March in Minnesota

I stayed in Marshall after class to attend a meeting for an online high school starting next year. It's not the first, but the kids are interested so I checked it out. It was raining when I left Marshall yesterday. I drove into this storm. Ew. It didn't really bother me, I just went slowly. There was someone ahead of me who couldn't decide which side of the road to drive on, and the biggest challenge was just not to follow the tracks he left.
There was no school today anyway, so the kids have been out using the snow to its best advantage. It's fairly warm and the moisture content is perfect for snowman and snowfort construction. I'll stay inside and man the hot chocolate production and cookie baking.

Seven random things.

Hm. Got tagged, I see...Trouble with these things is not repeating stuff I already posted way back when. Oh well...
1. I won a VFW/American Legion essay contest on freedom in the 4th grade.
2. My second cousin was the art teacher at my grade school and also the Legion Auxiliary president. Everyone hated her and gave me crap. There truly is nothing better to do in small towns.
3. I was a bullied kid, but I survived. I can understand those who don't. I have a lot of empathy for the bullying issues I see on TV and read about for ed classes. Never got to the point of gunning down a school, though.
4. I snort when I get a good laugh on.
5. I don't think I've got grey hair yet. I color too often to tell. My mom was silver by 35, so I'm kinda surprised.
6. My teeth are still really crooked, despite three years of braces.
7. I like spinach. (That's lame, but this is harder than it looks...)

OK, who to tag...
1.Mama Michel
2.The Flip Flop Queen
3.Kelly
4.Cosmic Junkie
5.Rachel
6.Jamie Dawn
7.Groovy Mom

1. Link to your tagger (that's ME) and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Wordless Wednesday

Ten On Tuesday

This week's theme: Ten places I'd take a visitor to my home town. In our case, town is 200 people, so I've expanded to what I consider "home turf." Play along in the
comments or link back to your list on your own blog...
1. Really Big Tree:
This is about four miles from my house and almost the first thing we visit when we have exchange students.









2.
Camp Release


The link will give you the history of the event there. Our own little piece of the Dakota Conflict of 1862.




3. Art's Dairy Freeze. (In Season)
My kids would be far more excited about this (and iPastor.) I don't really like it that much, but I'm all for the nostalgia. There's one in my hometown I'd list if we lived there.











4. Our Church!
5. If a visitor had kids to entertain, we'd hit the PYC. Someone is really making a go of Prairieland Youth Center. It's putting a disused building to work, and providing activities for kids. Several have tried and failed since I came to town, and iPastor and his buddy Dan built their first DJ business from the ashes of their go at one wayyyy back when. It has been very difficult for any of these people to enlist community or municipal support, and the present management, while enduring some growing pains and reorganizing, is rallying to keep this going.
6. We would have to lunch at Valentino's.
7. And have supper at Duffy's
8. Historic Chippewa City
9. Swenson Farm Are you getting the Historical Society theme here? For one thing, we are interested in this stuff. Also, there's not much else to do here.
10.LacQuiParle Mission If we went geographically, this would be by the tree, but oh well.
***
Only in Minnesota, would you find at, oh, say, 6am, a woman in her jammies, slippers and fuzzy robe, plowing a minivan in reverse through the plow rut. Successfully.

Snowy

Lovely white poofy stuff coming down. Doesn't last too long this time of year; by tomorrow it'll be brown slop. The yard looks clean for now.
I have no telephone, and no idea why. The internet is up, the phone appears to be fully charged, and there's no reason I can think of that I get dead air. I also have no idea where iPastor has the vonage box rigged in to check it out.
Checked out some meme things for Monday, but none of them sparked my interest. That and many were St. Pat's related. I believe firmly that Saint Patrick spends most of March 17 every year spinning like a top in his grave. I have no idea what green beer and debauchery have to do with St. Pat. Or being Irish. Just an excuse for the Norwegians around here to tint a keg. Of to get ready for work and track down a sitter on foot.

Hosanna

It was our church's annual breakfast and egg hunt today. We like to beat the rush and take care of stuff on Palm Sunday. We had lots of wonderful food, but the kids had one goal in mind. They came home with buttloads of candy. Thing 3 got the "golden" egg and won a little Zebco fishing kit that Thing 4 is quite jealous of.
Speaking of Thing 4, he's been coming into his own lately, but also showing sides to his temperment that I druther not see. He crawled into be with me this morning chirping about his trip for pizza and the Horton movie with grandpa. He proceeded to explain left and right (correctly) to me, and play with the cat. Getting ready for church, however, became a struggle. He threw a fit over jelly toast, then acted up all through church. It'll all come around, I'm sure, but it was a trying morning.
Now it's time to wind down tonight and gear up for tomorrow. Nite, y'all.

Not much of a Saturday

Work and work. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Hootin' and hollerin'

The concert was awesome. We dropped the girls off with g'ma and headed for ELmen Canter at Augie for the concert. Revive opened: good fun, young noise. Then Decemberadio took the stage rocking it old school. They had apparently studied 80's hair band style and it was working for them. The riff into Kansas'"Carry On" didn't hurt, either. Sanctus Real was third; everything on their playlist has had airplay lately, so they are up and coming. The openers were an hour and a half, then they struck all the equipment from the stage and Third Day hit. Wow. Just. Wow. Mac had a twinkle in his eye that looked like he was having a blast, or he's a really good faker. The band was fired up and put on an excellent show. We hung on the rail. iPastor's secret superpower is being able to get to the front of any GA concert crowd, so we got Mac's water dumped on us (which was all right, blessed hot in a crowd of jumping co-eds.) and came home with a guitar pick. We also scavenged enough Coke caps to pay for one of the kid's college, cuz I'm tacky that way. Scored some swag on the way out, and hit Lange's for breakfast on the way home. Good times.
Got home at 2:15 in the blessed am, so I slept in and my day is shot, for I am off to work and out the door!

It's a lovely day...

...and I'm sitting inside. All that sunshine means slush. Ick.
Getting ready to ship the kids off for weekend at G'Ma D's house. Chasing down undies and socks, etc. Better get to it.

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the Cosmic Junkie for sending me this link.

List of the day:

Ten on Tuesday!

10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the Spring

1. Lower propane bills!
2. Fires in the firepit
3. Taking another swing at gardening
4. Graduating!
5. Mud (although I'm sure this one will soon become one of "Ten things I'm sick of this spring"...)
6. Thunderstorms
7. Opening windows
8. Dumpster day! (Town supplies free dumpster for one truckload of junk from each house)
9. Longer days.
10. Walking the dogs without snowy paws.

So, what are you looking forward to?

Ramping up

Time to get off the chair and get cracking with some chores before I head off to both jobs today. I have all day off tomorrow, and I need to do some serious planning so I don't just fritter it all away. I'm just in a sluggish mood today, physically and heartwise. Yuck.

Party Pooper

Tonight my kids ambushed me in the hallway with waterguns. It was one of those spontaneous bonding moments, right out of the wacky family montage in a sitcom. They were getting along, playing together, laughing and having a blast. All I could think of was how angry I was with them for doing that instead of the simple chores I'd been asking them to finish all day, and I had just reminded them about again. It sucked the joy out of the moment for me. Tonight I am just too weary.

Speedrun V2.0

We ran to the cities today to visit Elsie. I usually don't have problems driving in the cities, but this and this were kicking my butt today. It was like that scene in European Vacation, where Clark keeps hollering "I can't get left!" "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!" I could see the stinkin' Washington Avenue bridge from anywhere in the neighborhood, but I couldn't get on the dang thing! At least the Wiki explains why it's so verschlugende hard... Anyway, we had been told her visitors were limited, so I dropped Thing 1 and iPastor off, then we headed to the N burbs to visit my bro and the rest of my clan who were in town for a visit. We had a lovely lunch and some chat, then headed back to miss the Washington Avenue bridge AGAIN. We were able to all pop into Elsie's room long enough to say Hi and give sanitized smooches, than we headed to MOA just long enough for iPastor to browse the Apple store with his gift card, and play a little parking tag. We then decided to take an alternate route home in order to eat at the Bayrischer Hof. Who knew that Springsteen, the Eagles and the Beatles were all accordion music? There was just enough snow to make driving interesting; speeds varied from 65 to 45 all the way home. It'll wait until morning to shovel.

Friday Meme-ness

Look! Blog Fodder, and a list! Two birds with one stone! Yay for writing prompts!



Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
I'd like to be Bono, with money, recognition and resources to make a difference in underprivileged parts of the world.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
Erm, 5. Love being able to connect with people far away. Love visiting. Hate waiting on hold. Hate answering machines. Hate being easily distracted from the conversation by stuff around me.

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
Modest Needs

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Orange creme whole milk yogurt

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Don't think so, but we're constantly passing around some bug or another.

Bleh

The week rolls on...
Thing 1 is having bus troubles. Our route has a bad rep for troublesome behavior, so the driver is pretty strict and brooks no nonsense. With all the kids he has to get safely to school, I usually appreciate this. However, Thing 1 has been on one sort of restriction or another since Christmas break. She feels as if she is unfairly singled out, or sometimes she will take the fall for a group thing to avoid a confrontation with the driver. Now she's been ejected from the bus for two weeks, and the school wants her to write an apology to the driver and to us for inconveniencing us. After talking with her, and corroborating with the other Things and some other kids on the bus, we feel she is not to blame for this incident and her dad wrote a letter to school explaining it. The school counselor wants her to go ahead and write the letter and "take responsibility," though she is in possession of a letter that tells her we INSTRUCTED HER NOT TO. Hello? Bucking parental authority is for teenagers, not the school counselors. Not making matters easier is the fact that she has been dealing with an intern in the counselors office. We'll be calling and changing that as well.
***
iPastor's mom is not doing well. She has been hospitalized this week with pneumonia, and they are having a difficult time keeping her fever down. Hoping to go visit tomorrow. Sucks that the decent healthcare is so far away.
***
Tuckered out. Two job days all week, and next week too. Bonus: Next week is spring break at school, so my two school days off work are FREE!! Thursday iPastor and I are going to Sioux Falls to see Third Day. Woot! We'll drop Things 1 and 2 off at G'ma & G'Pa D's for their combined birthday weekend. Bonus day for going together this year. Off to bed. Rest is good.

Wordless Wednesday

It's My Big Break!

From 11:45-5:30. Trying to find a productive way to spend time. Today I have all my reading done and no major assignments until after spring break. Got my first Austen paper back. A. I rock. Now if only it paid money...

Can't trust that day...

Off to a rolling start here. It wouldn't be so bad if Thing 4 would just crawl into bed with us and sleep, but he has to sprawl across the pillow with his whole body, grind his teeth and snore. Sleep was a relative concept last night. Then the rest of the family wonders why I don't feel like getting out of bed right away in the morning. Arg.
***
Got a new toy over in the sidebar. The Blogger folks were pimping it out in the dashboard, so I'll give it a try, as long as it's free. Check it out and see what you think. Any serious foolishness may be posted to the blog for fodder.
***
NaBloPoMo has expanded their format to every month now. Jump in where you are and get your feet wet. The theme for this month is lists. The Cosmic Junkie sent one last week that I will address here rather than email, because I am lazy that way. Two birds with one stone and all that...However, I can't find it right now, so I'll do it later.
***
Last week I joked that I only had one two-job day, whatever would I do with all my free time. It's come back to me in spades, as every day until Saturday is a two-job day, except for the twelve hour school day tomorrow. I may be a little scarce here...

Happy Birthday Thing 1

I'm aging as we speak. My first thing was born 15 years ago today. Pull up a chair and I'll tell you about it. Guys are allowed to zone out or glaze over, childbirth stories are a woman thing, to be sure.
At that time, iPastor was actually mayor of Montevideo, and was settling in for a particularly grueling fiscal meeting of some sort. He joked as he left, "Feel free to go into labor and get me out of this meeting." Ever an obliging and agreeable wife, I started having contractions. I called him home, and settled in to wait. The contractions were sporadic, so I headed for bed. When I woke in the morning, the contractions were becoming stronger and closer, so we headed to the hospital, where I got all checked in and settled into a room. By then the contractions were three minutes apart and getting hard. I foolishly had the thought that this was textbook, and proceeding like clockwork. That's when the doc came in and burst my bubble. Contractions were three minutes apart, but I was only dilated to two. No pushing a baby through that. He started a pitocin drip, and drove me to the edge of insanity. Periodically, a nurse would come in and rip my loins asunder to see if I'd dilated any further. The news was never very hopeful for me, so they'd pat my hand, help me to the bathroom, or fetch me a basin in which to puke. The doctor had made some brief mention of pain medication, but he wasn't a real proponent of it, feeling it slowed delivery. Six hours after the drip started, I had finally decided that I. NEEDED. DRUGS. NOW. when the nurse chirped "Oh, you're at 10, I'll get the doctor and you can push." With the end in sight, I could do without meds. Once they fetched the doctor from the clinic we got down to business and in 10 minutes I had a purple, squirming, eight and a half pound daughter.
Apparently I was a bit noisy, because the nurse told me a couple of times not to grunt, to concentrate on pushing the baby out. Not the way to my good side. In the aftermath, while they were stitching and cleaning me up, it came out in conversation(between her and the doctor, don't mind the groggy chick that you're sewing back together over here)that her kids were adopted. Adoptive parents are awesome, but don't be telling me how to force eight and a half pounds of grapefruit through a 10cm window if you've never done it yourself. Sheesh.
For all that, I got this:

She was a little smaller back then, but only slightly more cranky. 15-year-old girls just have a different set of needs to meet and different tears to dry. On a good day, she's funny, smiley and full of life. We'll stick with good days for now. Happy Birthday Thing 1. Love my girl, I do, I do.

American Waitress

Two job day today, then picking up the German kid from the school dance. Which, due to a huge basketball tournament in town, they held at the American Legion. Ummm. Made waiting around for the kids a little more interesting for the grownups...