21 September 2014

It was an epic week!  I’ll be lucky if I can remember everything we did and everything that happened.  Monday was a teacher in-service day, so the girls went to Nana and Papa’s to play for the day.  I had an interview for a new position within Raytheon.  It hasn’t been a mystery to my family and friends that I’ve been pretty miserable with a reassignment I got at the beginning of the year.  I finally reached a tipping point and reached out to some colleagues for referrals and had some great interviews.  I have decided on a position doing something completely different than anything I’ve done before and I’m excited at the possibilities.  They would like me to start right away, but I’ll have to come up with a transition plan.  I’m glad that my office will be only 20 minutes from home, as opposed to the 45 I’ve been driving each way.  I’m also looking forward to regaining some of my schedule flexibility and autonomy.

When I got home from work and picking up the kids they wanted to watch Harry Potter (again), and I consented even though we normally don’t have “screen time” during the school week.  Tuesday was back to school and work. When we got home at the end of the day, I used the restroom and then went to wash my hands only to find we had no water in the house.  I called the water company, but they had closed the office for the night.  The emergency number said that they had shut it off for non-payment and when I told them I had proof of payment and had received no notice about it, I was told nothing could be done until morning.  So we luckily had bottled water in the food storage for drinking, washing, and cooking.  I also opened up our water drums in the garage for flushing toilets, cleaning, and the animals. 

Wednesday morning I got the kids all off to school and then headed downtown for court.  In August I filed for child support as I had discovered that the kids’ dad had discontinued going to school.  Our arrangement was such that I would not ask for support as long as he was in school.  It was a bit of a stressful morning.  There was still no water to the house and when I called the water company on the way to court I was told that payment I had proof of was not the payment in question.  It was the payment before; the secretary claimed that the check they received was declined.  It was going to cost over $100 to reinstate the water with all the fees and penalties.  I was sure there had not been a problem with the payment, so I told them I would have to call them back after I talked to the bank. 

It was raining when I arrived downtown, so I got sprinkled on as I walked the couple of blocks from the parking garage.  I made it up to the courtroom and waited outside, where I got a call from the Early Childhood Center that Arlo had an accident and evidently had an upset stomach and needed to be picked up.  Great!  I called my mom and between her and my dad, they were able to pick Arlo up for me and get him cleaned up and watched him for the day.  The hearing went smoothly and we got everything worked out and settled.  The judge commended the both of us for the respectful way we treated one another and the obvious amicable nature of our post-divorce relationship; reiterating that our children would benefit from it.

After leaving court, I headed into work, where I was disappointed to find that my manager was not in, so I would have to wait to inform her that I had accepted a new position.  I wasn’t at work for very long before the predictions about heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Odile were becoming more serious.  The school district called and said they would be cancelling afterschool programs and that parents were encouraged to pick up children in after school care as soon as possible.  We also heard rumors that Raytheon was evacuating its sites so that people had enough time to get home safely.  So after only a couple hours in the office, I packed up and headed home again, picking up Arlo on the way and then stopping to the get the girls.  We made the best of the situation and the kids enjoyed playing and watching movies while I finished up work remotely. 

At this point Wednesday evening, we still have no running water.  The bank doesn’t show that the payment was ever sent much less that the payment sent didn’t clear, the water company won’t budge that they received a bad check.  We were certainly praying the storm wouldn’t be too bad since we didn’t have water to the house.  Then to add insult to injury we were informed that the school district was cancelling classes on Thursday in anticipation of the storm.  Super!  Luckily Mom was willing yet again to take all three kids in the morning.  And guess what?  The storm completely bypassed us!  We had a few sprinkles, but no real rain to speak of!

Thursday morning, I gave up the fight with the water company and just paid them the $100 to turn the water on.  I wrote a letter to the office explaining how unprofessional and unempathetic their staff had been in addition to the irritation at not receiving any advance notice.  Had I received a phone call or letter that there was a problem with my account and the water would be shut off, I would have taken care of it immediately.  Instead we went two days without water because of a paper mistake.  I will say that I’m grateful we heeded council to store food and water for just this sort of situation.  It also helped me gage just how much water we need to have stored for future events.

Thursday was a very busy day, I let my manager know I would be transitioning to a new position; let’s just say she was not pleased.  After work I had to pick up ingredients for food that I was assigned to make for a singles activity, I had to drop off a dinner I made for a family in the ward, and then I had to drop off the ingredients I had picked up with people who had volunteered to help me.  Let’s just say by the time we were done running around, we stopped for fast food ourselves.

I was off on Friday and had doctor’s appointments scheduled back to back for Arlo and Helen.  The girls went to school on the bus and I took Arlo to the optometrist for an exam.  A few weeks back he had a preliminary exam at preschool and they referred him for further examination.  He was fairly cooperative with the nurses and doctors and she was of the opinion that he has a slight stigmatism and nearsightedness, but not significant enough to warrant glasses yet; I should bring him back in a couple of years.   I dropped him off at school and then picked Helen up for her appointment.  She has had a little bump on her lip for months and her dentist was concerned so I mentioned to her pediatrician when I took her in August.  She referred us to a dermatologist.  We waited for 45 minutes and paid a $40 co-pay for them to tell us it was a collection of blood vessels close to the surface of the skin and to leave it alone, it will go away on its own.  She ate her lunch in the car on the way back to school, and after dropping her off I went grocery shopping and then home to do laundry and make lunches for next week.  I picked all three kids up after school and we had pizza and a movie before heading to the stake center to decorate for the single adult luau.  The kids were not very helpful, but I’m grateful they are patient with me, seeing as I run them all over the place!  We donated some of our beach toys for the decorations and the kids enjoyed playing with those as we pulled them out.

We had our ward temple day on Saturday morning, so I had made arrangements to drop the kids off at their dad’s for the day.  We picked up a couple who were going with us and then dropped the kids off in Tucson on the way to Mesa.  The temple was very nice and I enjoyed being able to go.  We came home pretty much right away.  I spent the afternoon cleaning and then went for a run.  At 6:00 I went to the luau at the stake center and helped with final preparations and set up.  It was a nice event, although the entertainment, hula dancers, went on for far too long so that there was really not much time for socializing.  The food was very good and there were about 140 people in attendance.  I made a couple new friends and that’s always good.  After the luau I went home and finished cleaning and laundry.

Sunday morning I was up early and couldn’t fall back asleep so I went and picked up the kids.   I noticed that Arlo’s ear was bright red and extremely swollen.  Jeff hadn’t noticed it and I figured he was probably bitten by something.  When we got home I gave him ½ an adult non-drowsy antihistamine.  Four hours later when that didn’t work I got some children’s Benadryl.  Four hours after that I tried some children’s Claritin.  When that didn’t work I was really concerned.  It was huge, bright red and fluid had started to weep from the overly stretched skin.  I dropped the girls off with a friend and I took him to Urgent Care.  We were seen fairly quickly and he was diagnosed with a strep infection of the skin.  I had no idea you could get strep under your skin, but evidently you can and that’s why the antihistamines were not working.  They gave him antibiotics and a prescription to go home with.  The nurses were just smitten with Arlo and were taking him around showing him things and playing with him while I checked out.  Another $40 co-pay and we were off for home.  As you can see it was a hectic week.  There was a new job accepted, a hurricane, and no water to the house, unexpectedly no school, eye exam, skin exam, trip to the temple, luau, and a strep infection!  Here’s to hoping that my transition at work goes smoothly and we have a nice quiet week next week!

14 September 2014

 Happy Sunday!  My goal for the week was to actually get my blog updated on Sunday, instead of several days later.  We had a nice, albeit, busy week.  We started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets this week as we had finished the first book in record time!  Felicity also finished her first real chapter book on her own this week.  She’s been famous for starting books but never finishing.  My strategy with this particular book was to a) inform her that she could check it out from the library more than once b) have her read out loud to us in the car or to me while I was making dinner.  She took the AR test for it and got 90% so I was really proud of her.  She also took the AR test for the first Harry Potter book and earned 11.1 points. 

We had our Family Home Evening on Tuesday this week, and our lesson was on why we have the Articles of Faith and why they’re important.  As a very special treat we picked up pizza on the way home and ate on a picnic blanket in the family room while we watched the first Harry Potter movie.  The girls were SO excited!  Since I get home from work so late, the movie took us right up to bedtime, but it was fun.

We had a family goal of doing something active each day this week together as a family.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we went for walks after dinner.  Tuesday we did some stretching before bed, and Thursday we played Just Dance for 20 minutes.  It was good to get moving together and also get outside, walking and talking over the day.  I also spent time in the evening on the treadmill, although I was just walking.  I figured I could run for 10 minutes and accomplish nothing else during that time, or walk for 40 minutes and read or listen to The Ensign.  I’m participating in another health challenge with some friends at church and we’re tracking a list of healthy habits like keeping a food journal, drinking water, eating veggies, and of course exercise.  It’s helped get me out of my late summer slump, which seems to be normal for me as it has happened the last two years.  Did I ever mention what the results were from the challenge I did in the spring?  I won the $50 gift card for highest percentage of weight loss, but lost the number of steps and minutes of exercise to a very worthy competitor.  Anyway, I’m happy to be slowly but surely continuing my way toward goal…and I’ve been caffeine-free for several weeks now.  Change and improvement are good things!

Thursday was a very long day.  I worked and then came home and made dinner and then had to go back to work online for a couple of hours after making sure all the homework and piano practice happened.  Felicity did a great job of helping her siblings with getting baths, teeth brushing, hair combing, and reading taken care of before bed.  In honor of the 9/11 anniversary, I wore my MxPx September 11th tee.  It's pretty worn looking after thirteen years, but I didn't mind too much!

I didn't catch it roll over, but 600 miles!

We enjoyed a quite Friday night at home, and for that I am grateful. I did some cleaning and started laundry and the kiddos enjoyed screen time.  They wanted to watch the first Harry Potter movie again.  Saturday morning their dad came to get them and I went for a run and then went grocery shopping.  When I got home I prepared our lunches for the week and finished up the household chores.  I'm sure nobody is very interested in my weekly reporting on cleaning and laundry; sometimes it feels like all I ever do is go to work and clean, cook, and do the laundry.  In the evening I put some movies on and finished the t-shirts that I started for the kids for our trip to Disneyland over fall break.  Instead of embroidering around them, I sealed the fabric with paint, which was easier, and I think they turned out all right.  

Sunday morning I went for a walk while listening to old General Conference addresses and then went to church.  After the block, I had a single adult meeting, and after that I went to pick up the kids.  We went over to Nana and Papa's house where they had shrimp and crab, the kids got a big kick out of that!  Felicity ate a whole bowl of shrimp (girl after my own heart), Helen was mostly interested in playing with the crab legs. I'll be looking forward to the short work week and all the great things on the horizon!

07 September 2014

Can you believe the first week of September has come and gone?  Wow!  Monday was very quiet as the kids spent Labor Day with their dad and his family.  I went for a run and spent time crafting and watching movies.  I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a new pedometer, but the one I picked was not the price that it was labeled so I had to take it up to the service counter. The service cashier helped me out, returning the difference between the label and what I paid.  As she handed me the change and the pedometer she said, “you don’t’ really need this, you know.”  I looked at her puzzled.  I wasn’t sure if I got the wrong one or if she was going to tell me that I could just use my phone, or what.  I asked “What do you mean?”  To which she replied “You’re gorgeous, you don’t need to track your steps or calories.”  Ok, best compliment ever!  I politely thanked her, told her that a couple of years ago I weighed 115 pounds more, and I did in fact need the pedometer.  She gave me a high five and I walked away feeling pretty good, it really made my day.  I picked the kids up in the afternoon and we had a nice dinner before settling down into our bedtime routine.  They were pretty dirty, tired, and covered in mosquito bites, but from what I could tell they had a good time.

It was back to school and work on Tuesday.  We had family home evening when we got finished with dinner; our lesson was based on the third article of faith: “We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to laws and ordinances of the gospel.”  After our lesson, we had ice cream sandwiches as our treat and played Clue as our activity.

Felicity had activity days on Wednesday, and Helen and Arlo and I enjoyed extra one on one reading time.  Arlo loves to bring me book after book.  He’s such a good boy.  They’ve all been doing well in school.  I’m so impressed with Helen’s eagerness to do homework; she has such great penmanship and carefully completes her assignments.  Felicity is learning quickly and I am impressed by her ability to grasp new math concepts.  We’re working on taking her time and completing her assignments neatly.

Friday was very busy.  I got the girls on the bus and dropped Arlo off at daycare.  I went for a run and then went to the Primary school to help out in Helen’s class.  I graded homework, passed back papers, and stapled new homework packets.  Then I went to the Intermediate school to help in Felicity’s classroom.  I picked Arlo up when I was finished and he and I went grocery shopping.  He helped me clean up the house and make lunches for the week.  I enjoyed spending that extra time with him.  Friday evening we had our weekly pizza dinner upstairs and enjoyed being together.  The girls love to have time to play and not be so worried about homework, piano, baths, and getting to bed on time.  My niece came over Friday night to stay with us, so that just added to the fun. 

Saturday morning I put the little kids in the jogging stroller and the girls on their bikes and we went for a run/ride down to Anamax Park.  The kids had fun playing and they were so good on the way to and from the park.  I got my exercise, and they got some exercise and play time too!  In the afternoon we went shopping so that Helen could spend her birthday money.  We went to Target and she picked out a myriad of random things.  She bought some gum for her and a pack for Felicity, some chips, a little stuffed dog, a stuffed raccoon, a notebook, and a pen.  It took her forever to pull out each dollar to pay the cashier.  We stopped at Eegee’s on the way home and enjoyed a frozen fruit drink, that was a hit, although I had to bathe two sticky babies when we got home.  In the evening we had movie night. Helen chose The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and we had candy and popcorn.

Sunday morning was very nice.  I taught my last primary lesson and the kids were fairly well behaved during Sacrament meeting.  Arlo has realized that he can get me to rush him out by claiming he has to pee.  My fear of being peed on had me obliging; although, after two trips I said no and took my chances.  To his credit, he did actually go both times I took him.  We went to Nana’s in the evening and had dinner and visited. 

Their backyard was overrun with what we call Mexican Generals, they’re large multicolored grasshoppers (horse lubber, Taeniopoda Eque) and I love them.  They’re not normally found in the Tucson area, but they were thick in Aravaca, where my great-aunt Norma lived.  My nana would let me catch things and bring them home in jars when we would visit (yes, it’s probably not a surprise to many that I was that kind of a kid) and that regularly included Mexican Generals.  As a result we had a healthy population in my parent’s yard growing up and when they moved to Vail, my dad brought a lot of his plants with him and I believe it’s the same population that inhabit their backyard now.  Coincidentally, I took a lot of plants from my parent’s backyard before they moved and I have seen one or two in my garden as well.   I don’t mind the destruction so much because they remind me of my aunt and my nana.  The kids had a blast finding them and watching them, although they wouldn’t hold them.

We finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Sunday night  and the girls really enjoyed it.  Felicity will get to take the AR test for it sometime in the coming week so that we can watch the movie for Movie night.  She is so elated!  We’ll start the next book tomorrow.

31 August 2014

I don't think we had much exciting going on this week.  Believe it or not.  Monday night I went to the curriculum night at the Intermediate school.  It was at six, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed over there.  It was interesting to hear some of the things the kids and teachers are doing this year.  There were some aspects that I found encouraging, and some that I was discouraged with.  It made for a long day, however, and we were all glad to get home. 

We are really enjoying Harry Potter and are more than half way finished with the first book.  Helen's been trying to read along as well and I'm so proud of the progress both girls are making.  Felicity took a few AR tests this week and did fairly well.  She's gotten points for three of the Chronicles of Narnia books that we read over the summer.

We had pizza and movie night on Friday night.  We stayed up late, and after the kids went to bed I cleaned.  Their dad came to get them on Saturday morning for the weekend.  Even though it was my turn to have them for Labor Day, I said he could keep them through Monday since his family gets together for the holiday.  I still struggle with being without them.  I hate that this is part of their life, and I hate to worry.  I really debated about keeping them Monday, even though I didn't have any plans; there have been some things that I've asked him not to do when the kids are with him, which he continues to do, which in turn makes me hesitant to agree to give up my holiday or adjust our schedule to meet his.  I always feel I walk a thin line between being charitable and being taken advantage of.  I am glad that they get to see their cousins and grandparents.  Despite common belief, it was never me that kept them from them during the marriage.

I went for a run Saturday morning after they left; it was nearly 9:30 and was a very hot and difficult run.  I did some yard work, cleaned, finished the laundry, cleaned and vacuumed the truck, and did the grocery shopping.  In the evening I worked on some shirts that I'm making for the kids to wear at Disneyland in October.  I also watched my niece overnight, so we painted our nails.

Sunday morning I was up early because my niece was up early.  I prepared my Primary Lesson and we watched Veggie Tales and I did her hair.  I also had some extra time to do my hair so I straightened it, then curled it (seems sort of silly) and it turned out pretty cute.  I enjoyed my meetings in the afternoon.  I was unexpectedly released as a Primary Teacher and called to serve as an Activity Days leader to the 10-11 year olds.  I think it will be a lot of fun, although it will make Wednesday's pretty tight in the evening.  My class was pretty disappointed to hear that I had been released.  So as it stands, I'm an Activity Days Leader, serve as the Single Adult representative for our ward, step in to interpret whenever its needed (I don't think I was actually released from that calling, but I could be wrong), and have an assignment as the Stake Girls Camp Certification specialist.  Nothing that requires an exorbitant amount of time, but it does help me stay busy.