from both sides

I went to the courthouse today to get an official copy of the custody and child support agreement for the adoption case. Don't get me started on why I'm doing what I paid a lawyer to do... it's just easier.

I called to order the documents yesterday, they were ready for me today after noon. I had Yago come home to watch the midget while I drove to the courthouse. I'd like to know what it is that makes a person feel guilty just going to the courthouse? I had to go through a metal detector which is widely practiced but still makes me feel weird. I just felt like everyone assumed I had either done something wrong or was associated with someone who broke the law. It wasn't pleasant.

I found the office I was looking for. The clerk asked if I wanted regular copies or certified copies, "Certified, please." It occurred to me after the request that I'd have to pay for them and I didn't have any money on me. I found an ATM and went back up to pay $7.50 for the certified copies. I left the building from a different door than I entered so it took me a few minutes to find my car. I finally found it... with a gosh darn parking ticket on it! Three minutes. Are you kidding? $16. I guess that's why everyone feels like a criminal at the courthouse.

fall

Last weekend the inlaws came up for Schmitty's birthday (parents, brother and sister-in-law). We all went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch for the party. It was really fun, we rented a campsite for a couple of hours. We roasted weenies and marshmallows for s'mores. I stuffed myself beyond belief. It was kind of a harvest theme park. There were train rides, pig races, bouncy pads, all kinds of things to keep everyone entertained.

This Friday is Schmitty's Halloween party at school, I volunteered to be a room parent. I'm supposed to bring a canister filled with candy and have the kids guess how many candies are inside. Gumballs painted like eyeballs were recommended so I've been searching all over for stupid eye/gum/balls and can't find them!! I'm taking Ralph with me to the classroom, we'll see how that goes. I'm dressing him in Schmitty's old dinosaur costume. He'll be in to everything, I'm sure.

That's about all I've got going on this week.

tmi

Schmitty had a friend spend the night last night, he's still here. I feel like I've gained a whole other insight into Schmitty's life. He has a "girlfriend" in his class and other such things. I see his innocence diminishing before my eyes, he's almost like a different kid. Why couldn't he just stay five?

I'm preparing dinner for another guest this evening. It's really difficult with the friend still here because the place is a wreck! I have them pick up but it just gets destroyed again as soon as they're finished. I mean that's what boys do, right? There are tinker toy weapons strewn across the house.

I'm going to go continue my futile attempt at cleaning and picking up.

lil' shopper

I went grocery shopping with Ralph today, which is always an adventure. We got the kiddie car cart because it usually keeps him entertained, he steers and honks the horn. Today he couldn't keep his little hands inside the cart, he pulled item after item off the shelves. He smuggled two pad thai bowls, a bag of dried beans, and a can of yams into his front compartment.

Sam's having a friend spend the night tonight, there's no school tomorrow. He's very excited, I hope they have fun.

i'm a jerk

Last week I totally blew off the piano tuner. I had an appt for him to come over and tune our piano last Wed morning but was so preoccupied with my suspended license I forgot. I didn't realize it until Thursday night when Yago asked me how it went.

It took me until today to screw up the courage to call the tuner back and try to reschedule. He wasn't happy or eager to make another appt with me, I can't say I blame him. It was an uncomfortable phone call and I couldn't decide if I should launch in to the ridiculous DMV story or just bite the bullet. I mean, does he really care why I wasn't here? Probably not. I just sounded a little pathetic.

I'm not sure what's wrong with Blogger but I'm going to try to post this for the second or third time.

there was a gorgeous lady who lived in a shoe...

I met my neighbor three doors down last Friday. She saw Jacob staring at her jack-o-latern one morning and came out and introduced herself. While making small talk she disclosed she'd recently miscarried at 32 weeks. She told me the story about how she went in for a regular checkup and they couldn't find a heartbeat. They induced labor and she had to deliver the baby stillborn. Her memorial was on Sunday. We both stood in her front yard with tears in our eyes, it was a strange moment we shared. We apologized to each other profusely and she invited the midget and me in.

Since we have the same floorplan she asked what I did in this room and that room. They (her and her husband) had turned in the keys to their apartment the day before and he'd invited 15 people over that evening so she had a lot of unpacking to do. I told her I'd kill my husband if he ever did that to me!

I invited her over to our house to look around and she said she'd come over when her husband got back from the hardware store. I hurried home to clean up the breakfast dishes and waited like a girl on prom night. She never came.

This morning when I saw her she explained she planned on coming over but was so busy with everything she didn't have a chance. She said maybe she'd stop over today after school but she hasn't. It's weird to feel stood up by someone you barely know, I think I'm too eager for a neighborhood friend.

I'm sure the moment my house is in a shambles the doorbell will ring. My mistake is probably picking stuff up, no one ever stops by unannounced when your house is tidy.

i don't believe it

I went to the DMV this morning to get a current Nebraska license. (I still have my Texas license with my maiden name on it.) I was feeling unusually lucky this morning because the clerk reluctantly agreed to use a photocopy of my marriage certificate showing the name change since I also had my military ID. Plus, when I got there I was the only person in line.

Things changed when she entered my information in to the data system. She asked if I ever got a ticket in NC and I couldn't immediately recall. Let's be honest, I could have an outstanding ticket in several states and a couple of countries. I said, "I don't think so." Turns out someone with the exact same name and birthday (except she was born in '73) got a ticket (or something) in NC. On a military installation.

The clerk couldn't verify it wasn't me and I'm not sure she really believed it WASN'T me so I couldn't get my license. She gave me a phone number of the DMV in Onslow, NC, to call. I have to prove to NC that it wasn't me who got the ticket. How am I supposed to do that? I don't know, they don't know. I called and after getting passed around three times the supervisor said she'd call me back. It might be tomorrow before she has an answer of what I need to do.

My main concern in this whole thing was registering to vote. The Nebraska clerk said I needed a clearance letter from NC before I could get my license and god only knows how long that would take! I asked about voting and she said no problem and took my registration form without question. I thought that was odd. I can vote without proving who I am, and I can keep my TX license and drive around until 2010 but I can't get a current license.

say no to gnocchi

I spent HOURS making homemade gnocchi yesterday just to have it turn in to a pile of mush last night. That kind of stunk.

Last night was Schmitty's first CCD class, he wasn't impressed. It was 3rd and 4th graders together, a large group of kids. It sounded like they just sat there and played a quiet version of Simon Says most of the night while the 4th got their instruction. Oh well.

no-key

I'm a litte annoyed, okay more than a little. I've searched high and low in probably half a dozen different grocery stores for gnocchi and can't find it.

from the mouth of babes

We got the framed portrait of the boys back on Saturday, it's beautiful. Yago spent the weekend hanging things on the walls and making it look a little homier in here.

Schmitty spent last night at my parents' house. It's always weird when he's not here. We were talking the other night, sometimes he says the most interesting things. We were on the couch and he'd just finished clearing the table, I still had to do the dishes. I said something about how I didn't feel like doing the dishes and he offered to help. I smiled at him and told him that was really nice of him to offer. He said, "Well, I think when you help someone it leaves a little spot on your heart." I thought that was just about the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. I smiled and joked that I bet Yago doesn't know that. He replied, "I think he does. I also think that when you lie it leaves a spot on your heart, at least it does on mine." Geez, Mr. Philosopher.

not a word

We took Ralph for his 18-month well-baby visit the other day and there's a teensy bit of concern over the fact that he refuses to talk. The doctor tried to help us out with a, "But he says mama and dada, right?" No. "Is he in daycare?" No. "Does he watch a lot of tv?" No, not a single word. Hmph. I think he's just stubborn.

open house

A conversation overheard at Schmitty's open house last night:

A mother looking at an assignment hanging on wall...

Child: "That's for you to look at, not to be criticked."

Mother: "Critiqued."

Yago says I have issues but it was more for my own amusement. I thought it (I) was funny.

not very interesting

Lately my blogging has not been prolific but it's mostly because I've been swamped. It seems like there's always a task (or two) of the day. There's so much I want to do but right now I'm swamped with the mundane.

Yesterday I went to a frame store and chose a frame for a portrait of the boys that Yago had done in Iraq. It's a beautiful painting and I'm really excited to get it framed and hung.

Ralph is STILL in his empty-all-the-cupboards, watch-mommy-put-everything-away, and empty-all-the-cupboards-again phase. It's fun. (or it was for the first week)

there goes peter cottontail

Schmitty and I have a little routine in the morning on our walk. We know all the dogs that are out and say good morning to them. There are three dachshunds in one yard and we call one of them Sadie, "Good morning, Sadie." Then there's the most well-behaved boxer I've ever seen. We look for him every morning and say, "Good morning, Boxer." Finally, there's a bunny we see every morning that hops in to the same bushes. All we see is her little tail.

This morning we didn't see the bunny and commented on it. A little further up the road there was a squirrel that had been hit by a car. I told Sam not to look, just keep walking. Turns out it was a little bunny. I didn't have the heart to tell him. I was sad enough for both of us.

Last Saturday we drove up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to visit Yago's best friend since kindergarten. We spent the night there and had a good time just hanging out. They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and Ralph loved playing with the baby dolls and princess toys. It was funny. It was a little more difficult for Schmitty to entertain himself. After digging through Dora and Barbie Princess videos he finally found Schrek, Cars and The Fox and the Hound. We invited them down for a weekend and I hope they come.

going solo

Last night was Skate Night at Schmitty's school. I took him after his piano lesson and it was there that I learned (again) my little boy is growing up.

We went in and I paid for admission and skates for both of us. When we got to the counter to get our skates I asked if he wanted me to skate with him assuming he'd say yes. I was so confident that I'd already paid for my rental. "No, that's okay. I'll skate with my friends first." Oh. He went out there and I sat near the snack bar watching. I waited all evening for an invitation that was never extended. Gone are the days of the two of us holding hands and skating around as fast as we can, giggling wildly.

I spent his early years dressing him in argyle sweater vests and reindeer sweaters around the holidays. His hair was cut and gelled just so. Now he reads greek mythology books about vampires, wears a dragon necklace and his favorite school shirt is a t-shirt that says "Caverns of DOOM" under a bat. Throw in a flaming skull tattoo and he's ecstatic. The nerve of my little boy.

I couldn't help but laugh at the skating rink when they started playing YMCA and Schmitty thrust both fists in the air with index, pinky fingers, and thumbs extended. That was too funny. Oh and at the end when he tried break dancing, I nearly busted a gut.

ollie ollie in come free

Last night Yago and I searched and searched for the remote. I was upstairs looking in our closet, thinking maybe Ralph snuck it up there to play with while I was in the shower. Yago searched the pantry and kitchen cabinets. After much searching, Yago found it placed neatly inside our front loading washing machine. All I could think was, "Thank God I'm not the one that misplaced it."

In other tv adventures I called the cable company this morning to ask if there was an outage. Turns out Schmitty changed the input on the tv when he turned it off before school. A little embarrassing but at least I'm a girl, that's always a good excuse.

Tonight is Skate Night at Schmitty's school so we'll be heading over to the roller rink after piano lessons.

Ralph thinks he's funny slurping the broth from his noodles. He's got his face buried in his bowl. sigh

all over the place

I'm listening to Dr. Laura, as I always do. She's reading a letter from a woman in the Army who is separating to be a stay at home mom. She's describing her family care plan, I hated doing those. I've still got several years in the Reserves but I'm so happy I'm out.

I met some neighbors today They have two boys, a 3-yr-old and 18-month-old. I was happy to talk to them.

I went to the PTO meeting yesterday and everyone knew whose house we bought. I didn't know anyone but was introduced as the one who bought Susan's house. (it was weird because I didn't tell anyone that) Apparently, Susan was the PTO President last year. Is there anything this woman couldn't do? She kept an immaculate house, worked at the school and was the PTO President. Sheesh.

I'm reading one of Schmitty's books because he was so excited about it. Ugh. It's about vampires and half-bloods. I don't know if I can slog my way through it. He's always asking what part I'm on. blah

I hate those giant black crickets we have in Nebraska. I don't know how but they always manage to get in to basements which gives me the willies everytime I head down there. I killed one yesterday but they're big and gross. Yuck.

what's the word?

Forgetful. Sam forgot his lunch yesterday and today he forgot his shoes. He wears rubber boots in the morning for the walk to school and changes in to his sneaker. I got home this morning and found a message from the school nurse that he didn't have any shoes. I drove up there and dropped them off for him (thereby negating any carbon footprint reduction this morning's walk had accomplished).

I'm trying to go back on a diet and gained two pounds! I hate diets.

Oh! I have my first PTO meeting today after school. I have to take the kidlets but it should be fine. I'm sure it'll be a colossal waste of time but I'm going, nonetheless.

We had someone pull over and offer Sam a ride to school again. I think it's really nice and I feel bad for saying no. I also feel bad because I think they assume I don't have a car and I'm walking because I have to and not because I want to. The woman today got out of the car with her daughter and had her daughter translate for her. I thought that was muy amable. She even gave me her name and number.

I've got to mount my license plates and change a headlight while Ralph naps. I'd better get crackin'.

a while

It's been a while since I made an entry, not on purpose or anything. It's just when you skip a few days you feel like there should be a ton of news and a zinger entry but there isn't.

We bought a piano last week and that's been our exciting news. It's a mahogany finish upright, nothing fancy but a piano nonetheless. Jake, as you can imagine, loves it.

We went to the reunion in OKC and that was good. Nothing much to report from the trip though, just eight hours in the car with a grouchy baby.

Pretty boring. Sorry.

peach soup

We took my parents out to dinner last night to thank them for letting us use their van while we waited for our cars to make it across the Atlantic. We went to China Road and came back here for dessert and show them our house.

My peach souffles turned out to be more like peach soup in little ramekins. While they were baking Yago chased the midget through the kitchen and they collapsed. There were two left standing when Schmitty ran through, he took care of those. They bubbled instead of cracked but I finished baking them, sprinkled them with sugar, and served them anyway. I didn't mind too much, I like my rambunctious boys.

Tonight we leave for OKC, we're going to a family reunion. It'll be a long drive but we always have fun. I'll be back Tuesday-ish. Happy Labor Day weekend!