Classic Malia

Today, I piled the kids in Rick's car (he had the van with him) to take them on an outing to Target. It was raining. They were all stuffed in the back seat. They were starting to fuss and argue and I was starting to get annoyed. So, I said, Guys, I'm getting ready to go back in the house and forget this whole thing. And then Malia says, "Guys, I don't want to spend the holidays dead." Ha ha. She is classic...

Friday the 13th, part II

Okay, so who knew that Friday the 13th lasted for two days. Well IT DOES ALREADY! So, yesterday, I went to work hoping I might actually get to spend some time with the kids on the weekend. The economy is in the dump. The first month of the year was abysmal with billable hours. But, it didn't stop a client from repeatedly sending something to me on a Friday and imposing a ridiculous turnaround time that meant working on the weekend. So I sit around all week not working. Then, when I would like to not be working, I get to work.

Well, last week I gave the lesson on responding positively to adversity. (Note to self: Never do that again the week of Friday the 13th.)

So, Friday we think we may have actually made it through the day without another email from that client. Just as I am getting ready to pack up, I get an email around 6:30. Oh yeah. It is from that client. It said, please review this 60 page document and provide your comments by Tuesday at noon. No big deal, right. WRONG! See Saturday is Valentine's Day. So, of course I have big plans.... Okay fine, so what. That's not the point. I shouldn't have to spend the day working. Monday is a holiday. Oh wait, lawyers don't get those holidays off. They don't have to be at work, but then again they do.

So, Saturday, I spend the day working. I was reading Indentures. For those of you that don't know, that is translated: "Extremely long heinous document drafted because people loan money and don't pay it back so to stop them from doing that or really stick it to them when we think they might get the big idea of doing that we will put together about as many complicated annoying phrases and covenants that nobody understands or much less complies with." So, I was having some fun.

Though it may be hard to believe, I managed to tear myself away from the Indentures to give the kids lunch. As I was walking back into purgatory (I mean the home office), I opened the front door to get the mail. I saw a letter from my mortgage company. I was excited because when I called to make my phone payment last month they said that I was ahead, didn't owe anything until March (and even then only part of a payment) and had finished my debt repayment plan (which I started courtesy of my disastrous job in Utah). So, I gleefully opened the envelope only to hear that I had breached my payment plan and seeing nice threatening words about what they will do if I don't pay. I'll tell them what they will do! If I am ahead, then how did I breach. Which way is it?

So, later in the evening, I finally emerge from purgatory. (By this time my eyes are spiraling like a Loony Toons cartoon character.) So, I get the kids some dinner and get in the shower. After getting dressed, I walked out to the car to put the carseats in. I picked up some of the clothes in the trunk and started to walk back in. As I did, I dropped some of the clothes I was carrying in the gutter, which had water.

So, I got over that (which is obvious by the fact that I am blogging about it), and had the kids finish dinner. Then, we went out. I stopped at the gas station. At the gas station, I was doing this thing with my left hand where I wiggle the ring finger as if I am going to smack the kids with it. Wouldn't you know it, but my ring fell off. So, I have to look under the car to find the stupid thing and put it on. Rich in irony.

Then we go grocery shopping and get back home. After we got home and I put the kids to bed, I pulled out the Panda Express I had bought for my treat for the night and heated it up. I sat down on the couch and dropped a packet of soy sauce between the couch and the toy box. So, I picked that up and then started to eat. I finished eating and eagerly opened my fortune cookie. But, as I opened it, I noticed something strange. NO FORTUNE! Are you kidding me!!! I have never in my life heard of a fortune cookie without a fortune!!!

Folks that pretty much sums up my Friday the 13th. An empty fortune cookie.

Trial Setting Conference Vs. Court Date

So apparently I don't have a court date March 13th, it's just a trial setting conference. I think that retard that works in my attorneys front office should be fired for telling me I had a court date 3/13! Apparently no decision will be made that day, unless Justin agrees to the terms of the evaluation (ha ha) which we all know he wont. So then we get to request for a court date and who knows when that will be (probably another 6-8 wks after our trial setting conference.) WTF?!?!? I am so sick of this crap I could scream... or punch someone... any volunteers??

Lisonbees....you're all invited

...to a relaxing retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico June 13-20 this summer. Justin and I (along with our gangs) will be renting a home in Albuquerque for that week. Why Albuquerque? It's in the middle...sort of...of Cali and Texas and there is surprisingly a lot to do. There are many places to stay...hotels, vacation/condo rentals, and even camping. Eventually, we'd like to have a family reunion every year at about this time...so everybody could plan on it. Since it doesn't look like we will be able to do this over the Christmas holidays again, we're going to have to plan ahead and do it in the summer time. There is a great website...vrbo.com which has condos/homes on it for reasonable prices. There is a cool Indian Pueblo to visit, part of the old Route 66, hiking, Sandia aerial tramrail, Old Town, and lots of museums. We don't have any definite plans while we're there...just some ideas. So, everyone is welcome to join us...if you need help finding places to stay, let me know. And the weather in June is in the 80's! Yippee! Something to think about...

Seriously???

I have to teach R.S. on Sunday. This week has been full for me...Scout stuff, various obligations, meetings, work for Elise, birthday party, children, etc. So, that's my excuse why it's Saturday afternoon and I am just now working on it. So, while I have time, I am sitting here and Malia is incessantly shooting a Chinese Yo Yo right in front of the computer scream. To top it off, she has a "compass ring" that she is running up and down the keyboard. And, for a cherry on top of that, she is smacking gum in my ear...why don't I get things done in a timely matter? I have no idea...I have encouraged her to go elsewhere, but she just keeps saying, "I want to sit by you mom." Man, her cuteness saves her.

Bella's blogworthy comments...

A couple weeks ago, a conversation like this took place between my friend Kari and Bella.

Kari was holding her extremely adorable baby niece Lucy who was down for a visit. Bella was talking and playing with little Lucy so Kari says, "Isn't she just the cutest baby ever?"

Bella: "Uh....I think maybe the second cutest baby ever."
Keri: "Oh, well who's the first cutest baby then?"
Bella: "Babie Rosie (pronounced Wosie)."

Classic.

Then today, in the car...

Malia "Bella, don't you wish it was Christmas every day?"
Bella "Yeah, because then we could see our whole family every day."

So adorable. She wasn't even thinking about presents. She was thinking how much she loves seeing her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

And, one from Jake.
Last night we were at scouts and the boys were all making invitations for grandparents, moms and dads, aunts and uncles, whoever, for the annual Blue and Gold dinner coming up. All the boys were feverishly working and Jake was sitting quietly staring at his finished invitation. The assistant scout mom said, "Jake, aren't you going to make any more?" Jake replied, "I don't have anyone except my mom and dad to invite," (and then he got all teary).

I was sad for the poor kid...the first part of his life, he had grandparents, a cousin, and some aunts and uncles around and now, he doesn't. I hope you are all proud of yourself, now when are you moving to Fresno?

Story time...

The setting: 7:40 AM at our bus stop. Carter who has managed to lose all his sweatshirts is standing outside crying. He has jackets but refuses to wear them because his head gets cold. So, the bus drives up, Carter is hysterically crying, "I can't feel my head." After laughing to myself for a second, I'm getting mad. I try to patiently get him on the bus (where it's warm)...the bus driver, "Brenda" is glaring at me like, "Lady, get control of your kid." After telling him if he doesn't get on the bus, he loses the Wii for the whole weekend (the absolute most horrible, wretched punishment Carter could receive) and, I finally give in, and tell her to go ahead without him. So, we go home and I am TICKED. I start rummaging through all the dirty laundry (yes, desperate times call for desperate measures) and find his black hoodie, which is dirty, but it has a hood. I give it to him and drive him to school where he is almost late since it has taken me so long to find the stinkin' sweatshirt.

Fast forward to 3:45 that afternoon. Carter comes in and says that he and a boy in his class were fighting over the black sweatshirt each claiming it belongs to him which caused the teacher to take it away from both of them. I am STEAMING at this point, because I know we'll have a repeat of above scenario tomorrow morning. So, I send an e-mail to the teacher, just as she is calling me to discuss the matter. I tell her the story of how I know it's Carter's sweatshirt and she says okay, I'll call the other parent and let you know.

Fast forward to this morning at 7:15 AM. Carter's teacher calls and says, I have the sweatshirt, tell carter to come to my room as soon as he gets there and I will hand it to him. I agree. Later in the afternoon, I went to the school for the wrestling match and stay late to pick up carter from school. When the bell rang, Carter cam tearing out of the building across the grass, so I yell, Carter, I'm right here, where are you going? He mumbles something about sweatshirt and office and promptly lets himself in through the principal's door (who is Rob, a friend of ours, and the father of Carter's clone Sammy). He busts through the principal's office (after briefly looking for the Jelly Belly jar) and into the main office. Trying to figure out what on earth is going on, I ask the secretaries if they know anything about a sweatshirt. One says, no, and the other says, let me call Rob. She calls Rob and goes into his office and retrieves the sweatshirt. Meanwhile, a woman and her child in the front of the office overheard the word "sweatshirt" and said, "that's my son's sweatshirt." Great, it was "the other woman." So, I said, "well, maybe one of them is in the lost and found," to which the office staff replies, no, we've looked. There is only one black sweatshirt and this is it. Great. The woman, at this point is getting upset. I think I was calm, but who knows? Because as this lady and I were talking back and forth over the counters, the speech pathologist comes out and says, "Michelle, is everything okay?" (Bella, Carter and jake are in speech, so she knows me). So, it must've been loud. Thankfully, Rob came in and said to the other woman "You need to leave now." She started to say something and Rob repeated, "You need to leave right now." So, she walked out, and Rob followed her and that was that.

So, after al the chaos and the lady yelling at me, they bring me the sweatshirt and ask if it's mine and I say, "Uh, I don't know. I think so." Carter's behind me saying, "Mom, that's my sweatshirt, that's my sweatshirt." I follow her back into Rob's office and the secretary says, "Is this his size?" Yes, it's his size. Then I look at the arms and see them...all the spots and stuff that was on it...the reason I had thrown it into the dirty laundry to begin with. Ahhh, I'm not a complete idiot. Yes, it was his sweatshirt. So, I walk back out to the front and ask, "What just happened here?" I apologized for such a big tadoo being made out of a stupid sweatshirt. The secretaries' responses were, "Don't worry about it. There's a history here, it has nothing to do with you."

Seriously? Did it almost come to screaming match at the elementary school over a stinking sweatshirt? THE SWEATSHIRT ISN'T EVEN NICE!!!! Mom bought it at Goodwill for a few dollars when we went camping last year! Everyone in the vacinity of the office had come out to see what was going on including the nurse, for heaven's sake! So now when the office staff sees me coming, they're all going to pass the secret signal around "Don't look up, crazy sweatshirt lady's here." Yes, I will forever be known as one of "Those parents" at the elementary school office, and Malia hasn't even started school there yet! The funny thing is, that on any other day, I would've had no idea what sweatshirt Carter had worn. I barely know what I wore yesterday, I certainly don't remember what my kids are wearing after they leave my sight.

Moral of the story...it's good to have friends in high places. Thanks Rob...