And we're back

She got off the bus today wearing a necklace that she made at school that said "I survived the first day of kindergarten".
I want to know where mine is.

And so it begins.....

Kindergarten starts tomorrow.
We have laid out our clothes, picked out our snack, and got our backpack ready.
Do you think kindergarten is ready for Miss Thing?

Me Without You

I am losing my sidekick.
For the last almost 6 year I have spent each day with Abby by my side, and now the public school system is breaking up the band. School is starting next week and I have to get ready to pack my kid up and ship her off on the bus every morning to kindergarten. While I am totally excited that she is going to school and is growing up and is so totally and completely awesome in every way, I can't help but be a little bummed that we are now tied to someone else's calendar.
I am now the parent of a school aged child, do you know what that means? I should now plan all vacations, doctor appointments and fun outings around days off of school. I can no longer wake up and decide to go to the Jelly Belly factory in Wisconsin. I can no longer go to Detroit for long weekends. I can no longer declare it 'jammy day' and allow up to loll around all day watching TV and playing board games.
Major bummer.
The upside is that now going to the doctor while she should be in school will be fun. And we will have some much needed structure to our days. And she gets to ride the bus which is something that I dreamed of as a kid. And she gets to make new friends (who may or may not attend the same school as her for 1st through 5th grades thanks to the asinine school board). The upsides go on....
As with the start of every school year there are pros and cons, but I can't help but feel like we are turning a page here. We are no longer the parents of a toddler named Abby, or even a preschooler named Abby. My girl is off to kindergarten and I hope that they are ready for her because she is the best pal, buddy, sidekick, partner in crime, cohort, and crony in town. She is wicked smart, terribly funny and adorably serious about things. She is intense, and silly, and frustrating. She can be divinely irritating and amazingly helpful. As I tell her all the time, she is the bomb.
I can't help but think that Nora and I are going to be a little lonely without her around to orchestrate shows and plan tea parties all day, but really we are easing into this whole school thing.
After all kindergarten is only half the day......

Single Parenting

It is no secret that I am the alpha parent around these parts. I spend by far way more time with the girls than the hub does, which is fine since someone needs to make some money. I spend a lot more time as a single parent than most at home moms do because of Tim's crappy work schedule. He is often gone before they wake up, and most nights doesn't come home until just before bedtime or well after, which means I perform my minstrel show all damn day long. I also travel with my kids alone which is fun (I'm not going to wait around for hub to sack up and ask for time off- the ladies and I have places to go!), but also causes trouble between Tim and I ( I hate hate hate that he gets multiple days and nights alone in our house and I struggle to get a few minutes).
For the most part I am down with this set up. However, there are times when this is kind of annoying....

.....like this morning when it took about 45 minutes for him to air up the bike tires before we left for the farmers market this morning. Seriously,the ladies I could have been there and on my way home in the amount of time it took for him to get ready to leave.

........like when I am gone for an entire day and I come home and the house is a complete sty. What the fuck. When I am alone all day with the kids I can manage to get dishes into the sink (at least off the table) and seem to be able to get the toys off the floor and also do my "job" of keeping our household running. I'm not a superhero, I don't have more hours in my day than he gets- what's the deal? I am also able to entertain the children for up to 12 consecutive hours without turning on the TV- go me.

.....like when he spends most of the weekend yelling at the girls. Not really berating them yelling at them, but more barking at them for being kids. I am all for well behaved children, and I am the first to admit that telling someone to get their shoes on 114 times is way annoying, but the amount of barking that goes on is painful to listen to. I used to joke around and call him Bella Kyroli, but it is kind of not funny anymore. What sucks is that I have 2 choices on how to handle this- I can say something which then results in a "fine then I won't parent at all", or I can say nothing and allow him to make himself an ogre in his kids' eyes. I know that this is the only way he knows how to parent, and I am trying to show him other ways to do things, but he is kind of stubborn and believes his way is working just fine.

......like when he 'checks out' and does nothing but follow me around and wait for direction.

......like when he spends 3 hours washing the car when the lawn needs to be mowed, the kids tended to, or the house cleaned (all part of my job description).

Now I know being a true single parent would be rough, but there are Sunday nights, after long weekends of togetherness when I wonder......


P.S. How excited are we that Michael Phelps not only won all his gold medals, but that he also got a good PR person who gave him something to say other than "I am at a loss for words" to say in interviews (not the lame ones with that woman who pulls them aside just after they have won or lost, but the legitimate ones with Bob Costas, who seriously needs to chill out on the Grecian Formula)

What makes your world go round?

I spent today in Milwaukee at the home of Mrs. Materialism listening to her talk about her upcoming move and her Brazilian cherrywood floors. Her husband, Dr. Materialism, has been looking all over the country for a job as a radiologist that will pay him the gazillion dollars he believes he is worth. They won't be staying in Milwaukee because he can only make $300,000, however if they move to the outer reaches of northern Michigan he will make $896,472, with a huge signing bonus and some other nonsense. Mrs. M doesn't want to move there because she doesn't want to be cold, or that far from a Target (fair enough).
When I asked her where Dr. M would be happiest, her answer didn't surprise me, but it did annoy me. He wants to be where ever will pay him the most money (no big surprise there). It makes me sad that he is a doctor who is not a doctor to help people or because he has a passion for science, he is a doctor because he wants to make a buck. And she supports this because she wants the lifestyle of a woman with a husband who pulls down a pretty good buck.
Whatever.
It is so weird to me that they truly believe that their happiness lies in a pay stub. Money makes their world go round, and as I was driving home I tried to figure out what makes my world go round.
I think it is the happiness of my kids and things like laughter, good tv, naps, helping people, and enough hugs and kisses for everyone make my world go round. Sure it would be great to have a giant pile of money for all those things, but that is unrealistic. If given the option I would pass on the cash and take the happy things. Is that weird?
The Materialism family is positively exhausting. I will say my little demon God son has really mellowed into this adorable little guy who hates wearing pants and loves growing things in the garden. There is hope for him yet.....

Going for the Gold

Is anyone watching the Olympics?
They are kind of taking over my life.
We had an impromptu party Friday night to watch the opening ceremonies, which was fun with the exception of the Republican from down the street. Anytime this guy comes over he stays way too late, and manages to offend my sensibilities with his socio/political beliefs while drinking all our beer. Seriously, after going off about how we should drill the hell out of Alaska so that he can fuel up his NASCAR a little cheaper he started a lecture about Barack Obama that ended in him calling me a baby killer. Then he told me that his cousin has "epilepticsy" because his aunt had an abortion and God was punishing her.
The problem is that all this is done in a nice neighborly manner where he doesn't really take offense to me telling him he sounds like a red neck so therefore I should take no offense to him calling me a baby killer. I guess I generally surround myself with people who share at least some of my ideals so it is kind of shocking/annoying when someone so outspokenly disagrees with me. He really sounded like a moron telling me about Barack Obama's push to brainwash people with his blackness.
I don't know what it is, when Chach bashes Obama, it doesn't strike the same nerve because I feel like we at least have some common ground since he so actively supported Hillary's bid. Not that I won't love him a little less if he votes for John McCain, because hell yeah, I will, but I at least he is not doing to because Fox News told him to.
And another thing.......
The whole New Yorker cartoon- why are we talking about this? Why are people so offended by seeing a black and white drawing of what every anti-Obama email forward has been saying for months? Maybe I don't get it, but really is it that big of a deal? Every stereotype portrayed in that cartoon found its way into my neighbor's litany of reasons not to vote for him.

But anyway, the Olympics are kind of my favorite. I remember watching the winter Olympics in Italy with a newborn Nora, and making a "leafy crown" for Abby while watching the Olympics from Athens with her. Sure they get boring, but Tivo has totally changed the face of it all for me. The one thing I can't handle are the announcers. I yell at them constantly for being mean about the athletes. Can't they just be a little supportive? And Bob Costas' chat with George W. was more painful than watching any of the gymnasts fall, but for the most part the Olympics make me happy. I want to know what Michael Phelps is listening to on his iPod, and I want to know how one decides to become a synchronized diver. I also want it on the record that volleyball is boring and that I want to punch all of the roaming camera men who get close to and zoom in on athletes who have just lost .And did you see Bela Kyroli's plaid jacket-hot!

I just love the Olympics.

Blast from the past

I did something today that I haven't done in a long time. I cut the bejeesus out of my leg while shaving in the shower this morning. Seriously it is like the worst wound in the history of shaving. We're talking 4 inch gash on my right shin. My bathroom looked like a crime scene by the time I go the 8 band aids on it, and while it doesn't really hurt I am slightly concerned that it has not stopped bleeding. The big bummer is that now my tan is shot.
That's right I said it, I am officially working on my tan this summer. I know, I know, in this time of melanoma we should be covered form head to toe in SPF 1,000 and wearing large brimmed hats and turtlenecks to the pool, but this summer I am going with the bacon theory- fat looks better tan.
Not only has my blogging been nonexistent since the spring, my working out has as well.
Here are things that have not- my crafting, my tv watching, my Wii playing, and a whole litany of other time sucks (like Facebook- I am now 'friends' with people I haven't laid eyes on in 15 years and, to be honest, i feel a little weird about it).
Details on the healing process to follow.....

Check out what we have been up to since April.