Monday, May 24, 2010

Yeah, so about that whole "shred" thing...

I totally bagged out on it.  I started doing the second work-out - and I liked it, but damn if stuff didn't get in the way and I really, really lost my early on motivation.  I'm also pretty sick of looking at Jillian's smirky face, so I'm taking her away.  It was real, sweetie. 

The bummer part about it was that I was actually seeing some results!  Some definition where there was none before.  You'd think that would be enticement enough to keep it up.  I think I got bored with it.  Which is pretty lame considering it was only 20 minutes of my life every day to commit to.  But somehow, that seemed like too much of a challenge.

So I've been doing a fat lot of nothing in the work-out department.  I need to find that motivation again.  Just to do something!  My younger sister has been running since last November - all through the cold New England winter she would go at least a few times a week.  And man, does it show!  She looks great.  I've been circling around the idea to try that.  Except the whole "running" concept really does not appeal to me.  I'm trying to work myself up to walking and then maybe throwing some running in if I feel really inspired.  Unfortunately, I have yet to carve out the walking time in my schedule.

I think I will though.  I do like the results I saw during my shred days.  I don't think I'll never work out again.  For me it's the constant battle of managing my time.  Well, work in progress and all.

At least I don't have to look at Smirky McSmirkson anymore.  So I got that going for me!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

And the Prodigal Son returns

As TNC (my step-mom) said, "He walked on that plane like he was getting on a bus.  Not a bit of worry in sight."

Which is exactly how he came off the plane.  In the Iron Man t-shirt that my Rent's got for him on, I think, his first full day - that I'm pretty sure he wore almost every day he was down there.  He had such a great time.  Lots of golf cart trips with Papa and Sadie (the dog). 

I figure it's okay if the dog is not anonymous

So many times going to the pool that even he lost count!  Movies, ice-cream, carousel rides, zoo trip, a visit to Ripley's Believe it or Not! that we all thought he would be totally into but apparently, "scared me to death!" 

I can't understand at all why he would be scared?!

Couple of highlights that I want to remember for him:
The first leg of his flight circling Baltimore for an hour and a half because of weather - and him getting off and saying, "That was the best ride of my life!"  Also, having his picture taken with the captain of the plane (once they'd landed.) 

Seeing a group of World War II veterens on the stopover in Baltimore and insisting on going around to all of them and saluting.  Also asking TNC if she would take his picture with a couple of them. *sniff!*

Taking his first golf cart ride at 1AM in the morning when they finally made it to the house!

Going to the pool three times on his first full day there.  And multiple times every day thereafter.

Having my parents bring him to Target so they could buy him underwear because they couldn't find where I'd packed it *ahem, zippered suitcase pocket*.  Guess they aren't into the whole "commando" thing.

Doing one page in his "vacation journal" which was homework from his teacher.  Which resulted in me cracking the whip at 9PM last night so we could GET IT DONE, please god!!!

Visting the zoo.  Coolest part - petting the stingrays and the water park!  (Literally, since it was something like 90 degrees.)

Stingrays are awesome


Oooo, cooling.
(I would just like to say that none of the other people in this picture are related to me.
Expecially the chick with the pink hair.)

Meeting the pilot on every single plane he was on.  Also going into the cockpit. 

And for me?  Seeing the Pixie go running up to him and give him a huge hug when he came off the plane. So sweet.  Of course, that changed within fifteen minutes of being in the car together.  But, that was to be expected...

Thanks, all, for your support.  It was tough - and we missed him.  Although, as I emailed to Deckside Thoughts, he was still a punk to me over the phone on his second day there, so that tempered the missing just a bit!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Steps

I didn't think I would cry.  It actually took me completely by surprise when I felt the tears prickle at my eyes.  Me, who had been so gung-ho about the whole idea of this trip.  For you see, today I put the Wonderboy and my step-Mom, WB's Nana, on a plane.  He is going for a visit to FL, by himself.  She and my Dad called me almost two months ago with the idea.  "We want Wonderboy to come down."  I said I thought that was a fabulous idea.  And I meant it.

Nana was coming up to see us and attend a family birthday party.  My niece and nephew turned two and my sisters decided on a joint Pirate and Princess party.  (More on that later - great time!)  So it was arranged.  He would return to FL with Nana.  He will come back up North by himself.  I didn't hesitate on this.  Time alone with my parents?  Fully undivided special attention on my boy?  No way would I ever deny any of them the pleasure this trip will have.  I will be nervous for him when he comes home next week.  Although I never said that to him in all the time we have been talking about the trip.  He is the first grandchild to fly by himself  - closely guarded by his JetBlue attendant - and we have made a big deal out of that.  I don't want him to be scared in the slightest.

I will worry about other things.  Like his behavior and whether he remembers to chew with his mouth closed.  If he will fuss or get dramatic at bed-time.  I'm hoping he will be so worn out from going swimming and playing with Papa and riding in the golf cart, that bedtime will be easy. 

The day finally arrived and I was so excited for him when we all woke up this morning.  He was going to school and Nana and I would pick him up at 1:30pm.  As my day progressed I became aware of how blue I was feeling.  Pixie and I were at my sister's for lunch and she asked what was wrong.  My sister asked me if I was nervous for WB.  But it wasn't really that.  I wasn't nervous at all.  I was sad.  I realized how much I was going to miss him.  Even though I'd like to put him on a plane to Timbuktu some days, in reality, it was pretty hard to let him go.

Of course I did.  Even now they are up in the wild blue yonder, on their way to sun and fun.  I am truly thrilled for him and so grateful to my parents for this special, special trip.  And if I have to have a little private cry now and again over the next five days...well, it will be worth it.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

It's not you, it's me. No, really.

I cannot get my shite together.  I have become one of the worst bloggers I know.  I'm barely squeaking out a post a week.  And that's all fine for those bloggers who have hundreds of followers and are all sorts of popular.  But for little ol' me?  Not too cool.

Eh.  What can I say?  We've had all sorts of stuff going on around here.  There was the flood, for example.  And can I just say that our flood insurance company, homeowners insurance company and FEMA can all kiss my ass as not a single ONE of those agencies decided we were worthy of assistance. So a big fat middle finger to them.  All of that means that we are still without a downstairs as we can't afford to replace the carpet yet.  The upside of this is realizing we can live in a smaller space without killing each other.  So we got that going for us.

On the positive front, the Mr. got a promotion at work.  He is the big executive cheffy head honcho.  (I think they should put that on his business cards.)  Which is totally awesome and he completely deserves it.  We are *angels singing* all getting health insurance through the company now!!  As he had none previously and the kids and I were on a private program that cost about $550 a month, this was excellent news.  And he got a raise as well.  So Woo-to-the-Hoo!  Only downside is they don't really have any seasonal help yet, so he is working pretty much every day.  This means we are having to rethink our entire kid coverage schedule and that is making me a bit nuts.  Plus, being the only parent at home at night after a long day makes me more then a bit nuts. 

It also requires that I figure out what to feed them at night, and hello? if I'd wanted to be saddled with that responsibility, I wouldn't have married a chef!  (Not really, I'm just not an instinctual cook, so everything takes me longer and I make a huge mess.)

Pixie has gone from being the wonderful go-to-bed girl that I have bragged about to the pop-out-of-bed-every-three-minutes-for-some-inane-reason girl. 

And don't even get me started about how busy my work is right now. Ugh.

At the end of all that, when the kids finally get to bed and I've cleaned the kitchen and made lunches (which I actually have yet to do, dammit), and can finally get around to blogging?  All my brain wants to do is have a glass of wine and read a trashy romance novel.  It does not want to get up and be witty.  Or interesting.  Look at this post, it's basically me whining the entire time.  Wow. Sorry about that.

In conclusion, don't hate me because I'm a bad blogger.  Or because I'm beautiful.
(Ha!  See what I did there?  Witty!)