I am a 36 year old Stay at home Mom. This is my journal of (hopefully)self improvement. There are many things I feel the need to change about myself. I will also have some average, run of the mill rants and raves thrown in for fun.
My laundry is dingy. I have new washer and dryer so I don't think it is them. But my whites do not stay white. From todays research obvviously I am overwashing them. I almost always use the long wash cycle thinking that they are dingy washing them more will make them cleaner. Obviously this philosophy is wrong. From what I have read if you wash them longer than 7 minutes the dirt redeposits on them. This would explain that no matter how much I clean they seem to get dirtier. I am also guilty of the more is better when it comes to detergent. I now buy the laundry tablets so that I don't overuse on them but from what I am reading you really only need about half of what they recommend so I am still over using. I am also horrible about overuse of bleach, this can actually make whites less white. Go figure. And last but not least I love Downy too much obviously. According to research this can make the dirt cling to the fabric so I guess I will no longer be using it. :( I love the way it makes my clothes smell with Downy but I would rather them look nice than smell like a mountain stream .....lol. So now I will try a vinegar rinse and I will use peroxide in the wash cycle. Last but not least overdrying your clothes can discolor them, so I have to stop setting it for the really dry setting and get my ass out there sooner and fold them. This week I tackle whiter whites and next week I research brighter brights.
I am trying all my new found methods this afternoon. I hope this does the trick because I am dying with these nasty grey whites.
Andrew had a wonderful time at preschool. He is typical of the males in my house. I had to pull everything I learned about his day out of him.
Did you have fun? yeah
Did you have a snack? yeah
Did you play on the playground? yeah
When I asked questions that couldn't be answered yes or no I still got vague answers but I am used to that. Luckily they send home a great calendar about what they are doing so I have something to work from and some ides of what is going on.
We read The Kissing Hand before heading out the door for preschool this morning. Andrew was in great spirits and we were both prepared with our kissing hands should one of us feel lonely for the other while he was there. We got to Preschool and his friend Taylor was waiting for us to walk in together. They held hands and chatted on the way in. I took his backpack and before I had it hung up he was off playing. Little stinker didn't even say goodbye. So I got his attention said goodbye and I love you and I was out the door. I will be heading to pick him up in just a few minutes. I cannot wait to hear how his first day went. We are taking Andrew and Taylor to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate their first day of school. That should be fun :).
I have been meaning to post an update here but haven't gotten to it lately. She has finished her radiation treatments now. That means she can stop driving the 3 hour round trip 5 days a week. She will get her Chemo at home starting soon but not sure when as she has developed pneumonia now. My parents are probably going to see her this weekend but I just can't. My last trip was so horrible I am not up to it yet. Although I do want to see her and see how she is doing. I am hoping the pneumonia was a kick in her ass to stop smoking again. She had quit before finding out about the cancer but started after the tumor diagnosis. Her plan was to quit during her long stay in the hospital but since she recovered so quickly she didn't stay long and didn't quit. Last time I went they were all back to smoking in the house. YUCK!!!! 4 full time heavy smokers in one house made for a not so pleasant stay. So anyway I hope that she has quit and the rest have moved back to smoking outside.
Today is the day. The first day of preschool. No time to elaborate now as I head in to shower and wake my boy for his first day of school ever. (can't you all just see the tears in my eyes as I type this?)
I called the school today and while the woman I talked to was very nice and friendly and absolutely saw the problem. she pulled his schedule and could see that he really doesn't have time to go to his locker and make it to classes on time. However all freshman lockers are in 3rd wing and they have found it causes problems to put the younger students in the older students locker banks. Her solution.... She named off the nicest teachers Michael has and said to have him explain to them about his locker situation and they shouldn't have a problem if he is a minute late. We shall see. I won't throw a stink now but the first time he is written up for tardies this will be revisited. My concerns are on record now.
*edited to add: The secretary in charge of lockers also mentioned that they are doing a lot of remodeling and all the lockers will be moved to the back hall sometime this year. That should eleviate the problem really. The issue is having to get into the middle of the crowded wing to get to his locker if it is just along the back wall it should be much more accessible between classes.
*and one other comment. She named off his algebra teacher and commented, no she is pretty strict and inflexible she won't allow him time to get to his locker. I am guessing Michael's (and my) first impression of her was pretty accurate.
Why does this happen to me? Last Wed when we had our garage sale one of the neighbors that lives a street over came by. She chatted for a while with Bryan and I. Then later that night she showed up on our doorstep with an old computer case to give to Bryan if he could use it. She came in and chatted some more. Saw I had MSN and asked for my addy. So everytime she comes on she chats with me. The thing is.... she has 2 boys with learning disabilities and not to be mean in any way shape or form but I think they inherited them. She is very nice and sweet and I like her don't get me wrong it is just sometimes hard to follow her. Her oldest son is having problems with his kidneys. He has been on amoxicillin for 2 months now. They did some kind of test on Monday and it showed he had a blockage but that is all she knows. She said the results haven't come back yet. I feel so badly for her like I should do something I wonder if she is getting all the information and if she knows how to be proactive for her child. Like the test results still aren't back to the dr's office. I asked if she had asked them to call for the results and she said they are supposed to be faxing them but they haven't yet. I said I would be calling all the time so they would get on it and get the results and she just said something like what can they do? the results aren't in. This conversation was on MSN and it was just what I could decipher from her typing which is pretty cryptic. I am the typo queen but hers is more just not knowing how to spell.
I really am a solitary person I like to have friends but I am pretty much content to just hang with my family. I am not in the market for a best friend and from our convos I am guessing she is. I don't know how to help her without having to hang out with her every day. It isn't personal there isn't anyone I want that kind of relationship with at this point. I like my internet friends for just this reason. They are there when I have the time but when I am crabby or tired or busy the machine isn't knocking on my door and wanting coffee chat.
Well, I took time this evening to discuss homework rules with Michael. I set an hour a night as homework time. I told him if he doesn't have homework then he can use it as study time. the reason I set a certain time is that I think if he knows he has to study do homework for an hour he won't rush through everything like he has in the past. I will be e-mailing his teachers this week and letting them know I want to know if anything is not turned in or is incomplete. He didn't take the news of the hour a night homework very well. He argued, ranted, raved and was generally unpleasant. I for the most part kept my cool and reminded him that he needed to be respectful and to not raise his voice. At one point we were discussing my high school career and he pounced on me when he thought he had caught me in something. I was telling him how I made good grades and had little trouble in highschool but didn't apply myself so have nothing to show for it but before I could get that last part out he jusmps in saying but you didn't apply yourself. Like yeah you didn't and I am not. I calmly said yeah you are right and look where it got me. Don't you want better? He was not happy to have played right into that one. Then he was telling us how his shop teacher was telling them how college wasn't really necessary. How his son went for 2 years and isn't using it at all. They are building houses and making tons of money without using their college educations at all. That his son could have been making that good money straight out of highschool..... I have the strange urge to do horrid things to his scrotum. I want to just say hey thanks for possibly ruining a lot of futures you dumbass moron.
Today was Andrews open house. Just a chance to stop by and meet the teachers. It was so cute. He met his teachers and liked them both. His friend Taylor is in his class and they were velcro'd to each other. The teachers all commented that they obviously know each other well. They were adorable together. They haven't seen each other all summer. I really like the program. It is really aimed a lot toward just getting kids used to the school environment. They do a lot of play and games a very short amount of craft and a little work on colors first and then shapes. Andrew knows both but I am more interested in him getting the school concept and the socialization this year then next year they work on alpha and numbers and more academics. It is just the relaxed non stressful environment I want for Andrew. Here is a picture of Andrew and his friend Taylor.
The highschool is arranged in 3 wings 1st, 2nd and 3rd wings. Michael was given a locker in 3rd wing but he doesn't have any classes there besides his advisory which they don't go to except on rare occassions. This means he basically has no access to his locker. He can run back and forth to the locker but the halls are very busy and this probably isn't going to work for him so instead he is carrying all his books in his backpack. This is just not a good thing. Those books are amazingly heavy and he has already had back problems in the past. This can't be good for the books to be carried in the backpack all the time, I am sure they are going to get beat up. I also know from past experiences that this is not good for the backpack and I will be buying a new one every month. I told Michael to talk to his advisor about it but he doesn't go to advisory regularly and he doesn't go to 3rd wing any time either. He already has big red (hickeylooking) marks on his shoulders from carrying the backpack just today. Iguess I will call the office tomorrow and see if there is any way I can change this. I am guessing he was assigned a locker in 3rd wing because that is where his advisor is. I just have this feeling that the school is going to be resistant to letting him switch. I am not up to the battles already this year.
The past few days are a blur. We now know why we don't have garage sales. It was a total bust. It really was a waste of time and I was not at all impressed with the people checking out as much of the stuff not for sale as they could. I am not a stranger person anyway I am uncomfortable with people I don't know and this was very frustrating for me. To top off the low sales, snotty people and ton of work, someone stole a USB modem out of the box off one of the tables. That was extremely frustrating.
At some point during all the running to get stuff ready I hurt my ankle. I don't remember twisting it or doing anything that would have hurt it just at some point I stood up and it hurt. This has not been fun. It was at it's worst last night but seems to be much better today.
School starts
The first day is always so bittersweet. The getting back to routine is nice, but the loss of summer freedom is hard to take. I think I really like the beginning of school because it signals the coming of Autumn to me. I love Fall, I love the cool break after the long hot summer. The promise of Halloween soon to come. I know it is still 2 months away but once it is here then Thanksgiving is right around the corner and then before we know it Christmas is here. I can't wait to hang outside in my yummy comfortable sweats and watch the leaves changing color. Our city parade/carnival is coming up next month too. Of course along with it will come the Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Has it really been a year? It is hard for me to believe. It seems like just yesterday. I am guessing it is that moment in time that you will never forget. When I am an old grandmother I will say. Oh yes I remember it so clearly like it was yesterday. I was watching Franklin with Andrew when my brother called and said "Can you believe this shit?" me saying "Huh?" then turning on the news and starting a crying session that would last off and on for several months. So much I could say about this but no time at the moment.
Anyway my original point before the sidetrack was Michaels first days of school have gone well. He has a full schedule this year. He is not happy that his algebra teacher has already told him that he will have homework every day including Fridays. I am not sure I understand why teachers do that. I have heard the argument that homework is good but I can say with 100% certainty that with that statement she completely turned my child away from her. He has already determined he doesn't like her and her class. So now I not only have to fight his unending resistance now I have to overcome his opinion that she is unfair and uncaring. I also don't completely understand teh homework is a good thing analogy. I think kids do need a break. If a child has 7 classes and they all believe in homework and assign 20-30 minutes a night we are talking 2.5 to 3.5 hours a night. Michael has 7 hours from the time he comes home until he has to be in bed. if he spends 3.5 hours of that time (Michael is smart but slower at written work) doing homework he then has 3.5 hours left. Of that time he has to take time to eat dinner. That is at least 30 minutes. So he is down to 3 hours. Then you have to make time for showering, brushing his teeth and other personal hygene stuff, plus get his things ready for the next day, thats another 30 -45 minutes. He is now down to 2.25 -2.5 hours of free time a day. I think we can all agree that this is a quick trip to burnout. So the truth is this is the extreme of what might happen. He has a couple classes that he will probably not get homework in, Computer operations and exploration of technology. But I also bet that he will require more than 30 minutes to do the required algebra homework each day and he has a mandatory 20 minutes of vocab every day in Spanish. So he has been told already that he has 2 guaranteed items of homework every day. It's going to be a fun year! More about this later.
