Burning Questions

Here are some things I've been wondering about lately:

When I get to my car with my cart full of groceries and my kids, and get them all unloaded and into the car, what am I supposed to do with the empty cart? Am I supposed to leave the kids in the car alone, and take it to the cart corrall? Or is it okay to tilt it up on the curb since I want my kids in my eyesight? If I'm not near a curb, can I push it to the hood of my car, like so many others do, and call it good? Really, what is the acceptable ettiquite for this situation? P.S. It gets even more complicated if it's winter and the keys are in the ignition so the car can warm up as you determine what to do with said cart.

At school we have a faculty restroom near my classroom that just has one sink and one toilet. And no fan. It's a small bathroom. Sometimes it stinks. Also, sometimes someone is waiting to use it as I walk out, after holding my breath in there while I "go". How can I communicate to that next person that I, in fact, was not the person who made the stink? It's important to me that people don't think I'm the smelly teacher!

I have no problem telling grimey kids to back off when they get too close to my baby when we are out in public, but is it too in-your-face-ish to say something to the mom? Especially if she is oblivious to where or what her child is doing? You know, I hate those child leashes, but dang, I kinda want to buy one and just hand it to the next person who is totally not keeping track of their kid. Or hook their kid up to it and just hand them the end.

Finally, what can I tell someone whose attitude is: "If it's broken, leave it broken. Or make an excuse. Or blame it on someone else." Come on. Accountability, people, accountability!

P.S. More pictures of cutie pie Jackson soon. I've been too lazy to hook the camera to the computer. Plus I'm trying to get him to smile for the camera, and I haven't caught it yet. I did get a great shot of him totally spitting up though.

Back to School

Today I went back to work. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Possibly because of some of these things:

• Jackson had his best night yet: he slept seven and a half hours straight! Almost made up for the waking up at 3:00 a.m. the night before and not wanting to go back to sleep.
• Hayley woke up right as I was getting ready to leave. Sometimes this means tears and "I don't want you to go to work Mommy." But today she was all smiles and hugs and kisses with her cute little girl bedhead.
• Jeremy took both the kids and all the stuff off to the sitter, even though it meant over an hour of extra driving for him. But it meant that I didn't have to get me, a tired three-year-old, and an infant ready and in the car to go by 7:00 a.m.
• Both kids had good reports when I picked them up this afternoon. Even though I kind of expected it, it's still a relief to know that all went well.
• My class remembered me, missed me, and I think for the most part, they were glad that I was back.
• I got to see my friends that I work with and they remembered me, missed me, and were glad that I was back too. Or they faked it really well.

All in all, it's kind of nice to get back into our routine, plus one more kid. At least until I go off track next Wednesday, and we leave for Vegas the Wednesday after that!

Dancing Queen

Hayley's summer dance class had a little recital. They danced to Under the Sea, hence the swimsuit.

After some deep thought,

and a warm up complete with some ballet moves,

Hayley and her little friends treated us to a performance. I thought Hayley would either be the kid that was always a few counts behind, or the one that was totally doing her own thing. Turns out she did a little of both, but she had lots of fun doing it!

Then on to the tap dancing portion of the evening:

"You mean I get to bang my feet on the floor and make a bunch of noise?"

"Hmm, this dance thing is great, Mom!"

That Day

That day, I think everyone's world changed.

That day, I was glad I lived so far away from there.

That day, I counted my blessings, and my family members.

And breathed a sigh of relief that they were all here.

What would I have done if I had known my end was near?

Who would I have called? What would I have said?

Would I have had the courage to help others

the way many did that day?

I would love to say I would, but the truth is I don't know.

So thankful for unselfish people.

So thankful for my family.

So thankful for my husband and kids.

So thankful for my life.

So glad to be reminded today

of all that I have.

Going Postal

If you are one for not wanting to miss unusual people, look no further than the nearest post office.  Here's a sampling of my experience today.  I was only there for twenty minutes.

• In line in front of me, there was a mom and dad.  And their two small children.  And the grandma and grandpa.  And the aunt and cousin. And the family dog.  (Okay, I made that last part up.)  My thought was, "Huh.  That's a lot of people just to go to the post office."  Five minutes later it changed to, "Please control your children."  Then, "If one of these kids wipes their snot on me..."  (And there were some close calls...)  When they got to the front of the line, turns out they thought that in order to do an address change, every member of the family needed to be there.  Not so much peeps.  But at least now they know.

• When I got to the front of the line, the postal worker kept touching my purse, and telling me how cute it was.  At first I just replied with a polite "thank you" but she kept touching and kind of stroking it like it was a pregnant belly or something.  Was she trying to steal the spare diaper in my purse?  Was she checking if I was carrying a gun?  I didn't ask, so I guess I'll never know.

• After buying my plethora of stamps, I was happily putting postage on my outgoing mail, when some guy comes up to me and asks if I know how many stamps his letter needs.  I glance at it and tell him I think it will only need one.  He then starts eyeing my stamps, so to get him to stop, I offer him a stamp.  This was met with a look at me like I was crazy.  Apparently, offering something to someone else is cause for lunacy.  He declined, and moved on to purchase his own stamps from the automated machine.

• Last but not least, a little old lady came in and needed help figuring out how much her package weighed, and how many stamps to put on it.  But she was cute and sweet, and I was glad to help her.  Plus, she called me "Dearie" and that will make this gal smile any day.