Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
9/9/09
I am so overwhelmed and beyond stressed out that at this point, I can only laugh and/or cry. I have come to the conclusion that the lifestage I am currently at has got to be the worst possible stage in life. Dealing with my aging grandparents. I have three, two of whom are nearing the end so very quickly. I know I am going to have to deal with losing my grandparents, but on top of that, I will have to deal with my parents losing their parents. I know this is stuff people have to deal with, but my parents are unusually close with their parents and they and their siblings are going to be wrecks. So I am stressed knowing that I won't have my traditional support system there to back me up. They are going to need me in a way that I have needed them. On top of this, I have my own growing children. The stress doesn't come when they are little, living at home, it comes when they grow up and move away but still can't quite make it on their own, so there are a million calls and a million situations that you try to deal with over the phone.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
September 4, 2009
Things are finally settling down around here. The kids are quickly getting into a routine. I am getting back into some kind of routine. Mitch’s schedule will be a pain in the butt the next two months, but I am usually so busy that the soccer season usually flies by. It is really the two weeks of pre-season at the end of August that I have a hard time with. Mitch is at work 7 days a week and is gone from 7 AM until like 10 PM at night. Pre-season ended last week, and this week I am feeling a little more hopeful that I can endure another season.
I think next year, if he is still coaching, I am heading on a vacation during pre-season. Not sure where I am headed but maybe California to spend some time with my only living great-aunt. Maybe I can coordinate and fly out with my Aunt Teen. We used to spend a lot of time together and she is actually who I went to California with the last time. The kids are usually gone those two weeks, and Mitch is only home to sleep during that time. Of course, next summer Hayley will be gearing up for college. Maybe she can be my traveling partner. It is still a ways off, but it goes by fast, so I will be making arrangements well in advance.
Speaking of traveling and vacations, I found a travel agency while shopping yesterday and they have FABULOUS short-notice vacation plans. Round-trip to Paris for $519??? I almost bought the ticket yesterday! Of course I don’t have a passport so I have to look into getting one mighty quick. Lots of cruises and all-inclusive packages for cheap, cheap, cheap. Of course there is always fine-print, but the lady that works there is my friend Janice’s cousin, so I feel confident that I won’t be taken advantage of and I like the idea of a travel agent. Of course it is easy to do things yourself online, but sometimes it is nice to pay extra for a little ease and piece of mind. Obviously a travel agent wants to stay in business and so will probably be able to work out some fun perks that a novice won’t be able to do. There is a place that I definitely want to travel to with Mitch before the baby. A little pre-baby vacation...at one of the Couples Resorts. They have several of them each with lots to offer. All inclusive and private beaches, private dining on the beaches...just the couple and the waiter...sounds good to me!
I think next year, if he is still coaching, I am heading on a vacation during pre-season. Not sure where I am headed but maybe California to spend some time with my only living great-aunt. Maybe I can coordinate and fly out with my Aunt Teen. We used to spend a lot of time together and she is actually who I went to California with the last time. The kids are usually gone those two weeks, and Mitch is only home to sleep during that time. Of course, next summer Hayley will be gearing up for college. Maybe she can be my traveling partner. It is still a ways off, but it goes by fast, so I will be making arrangements well in advance.
Speaking of traveling and vacations, I found a travel agency while shopping yesterday and they have FABULOUS short-notice vacation plans. Round-trip to Paris for $519??? I almost bought the ticket yesterday! Of course I don’t have a passport so I have to look into getting one mighty quick. Lots of cruises and all-inclusive packages for cheap, cheap, cheap. Of course there is always fine-print, but the lady that works there is my friend Janice’s cousin, so I feel confident that I won’t be taken advantage of and I like the idea of a travel agent. Of course it is easy to do things yourself online, but sometimes it is nice to pay extra for a little ease and piece of mind. Obviously a travel agent wants to stay in business and so will probably be able to work out some fun perks that a novice won’t be able to do. There is a place that I definitely want to travel to with Mitch before the baby. A little pre-baby vacation...at one of the Couples Resorts. They have several of them each with lots to offer. All inclusive and private beaches, private dining on the beaches...just the couple and the waiter...sounds good to me!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
September 3, 2009
My blog contributer and I will be taking two vacations this year. The first will be this winter, to visit his grandmother in Florida. The second will be in April to DC again. I have been many times at many different times during the year...and in my opinion, April is the best time to go. June has been the latest that I have gone and it really is too hot to enjoy any of the vast amount of walking you want to do. Plus in April, you get the cherry blossoms minus the crazy crowds that the summer months provide. February was actually a good time too because there weren’t a lot of lines to wait in for any of the exhibits and you don’t mind the walking because it is usually in the low 50’s and you want to keep warm, but by April, assuming it is an average year, you can enjoy a day or two at Virginia Beach.
My kids are enjoying the start of school. It is nice to see them happy with how things are going. My hope is that the enthusiasm lasts. The weather has been quite nice this past week. Chilly in the morning, very warm throughout the day and evening. The humidity is gone for a bit. Narragansett is a very humid town, being on the ocean and all winter long it is very humid and foggy. Warmer than the inland, yes, but still foggy. For some reason though, come fall, the humidity leaves for a month or two. Clear, starry skies at night and an endless blue of sky and sea during the days. It really is the most beautiful time of the year around here.
Some concerts I want to go to this year are Kings of Leon and Panic at the Disco. Still want to see ACDC, Fleetwood Mac again, Journey, maybe the Eagles. I want to see Wicked. The Boston Pops Holiday concert. There are probably most definitely more. Definitely Kings of Leon, though. They are my favorite NEW band of the past two years. I’ve been a fan since the first time I heard them and now they are getting more known. I’ll probably stay on the bus until they sell out and then it will be on to newer and better things.
My kids are enjoying the start of school. It is nice to see them happy with how things are going. My hope is that the enthusiasm lasts. The weather has been quite nice this past week. Chilly in the morning, very warm throughout the day and evening. The humidity is gone for a bit. Narragansett is a very humid town, being on the ocean and all winter long it is very humid and foggy. Warmer than the inland, yes, but still foggy. For some reason though, come fall, the humidity leaves for a month or two. Clear, starry skies at night and an endless blue of sky and sea during the days. It really is the most beautiful time of the year around here.
Some concerts I want to go to this year are Kings of Leon and Panic at the Disco. Still want to see ACDC, Fleetwood Mac again, Journey, maybe the Eagles. I want to see Wicked. The Boston Pops Holiday concert. There are probably most definitely more. Definitely Kings of Leon, though. They are my favorite NEW band of the past two years. I’ve been a fan since the first time I heard them and now they are getting more known. I’ll probably stay on the bus until they sell out and then it will be on to newer and better things.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Thanks TO...
...Allison. Thanks for being a great best friend. You are always there when I need you. Thanks to Lori, too! Hope to see you guys again soon!
A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHIN'
The kids went back to school this morning. Both looked darn cute if I do say so myself. Zach was pretty excited, which I haven’t seen in quite a few years. The first 5 or 6 years of school he loved. The last few years, no so much, but I think football has made a difference with that. He’s had early morning practice the last two weeks, so I think just having to be at the school at 7:30 AM every morning kind of got him back into the swing of things. His social group has gotten larger. Hayley is excited too. She’s lost weight this summer and is starting her senior year. We had her senior pics taken on Sunday. I will post them when they become available.
We had fun over the weekend. Mitch joined us after his practice was done, while Hayley’s pics were finishing up and then we went to Providence Place. This is the kids’ favorite mall of our 5 or 6 to choose from because it has four floors. The first floor is about the size of most regular malls. Just x’s that by 4. There is one about about 15 minutes of traffic closer to us, a more traditional single floor mall with three or four anchor stores. One in Swansea, the one at Emerald Square, two that I know of in Connecticut close to us, and of course the two we always go to in CT when we shop with my sister. There is also outlet shopping in Wrentham and in CT. Zach DID inform us that he is not going back to Providence Place until he has a job! He found lots of things that he wanted that weren’t back-to-school necessities.
We rented three movies this weekend. Messengers 2. Don’t bother. Race to Witch Mountain. Not as good as the one I remember as a kid. But ok. The Watchmen. Good. Definitely something you have to watch more than once. Kind of hard to follow unless you are familiar with the story, but worth the effort. A movie you need to pay attention to, and not multi-task throughout or you’ll be lost. We also bought two new movies to add to our cult classic collection. Mallrats and one of my personal faves, Empire Records. Zach is really into Clerks, I & II, and Dogma, so I introduced him to Mallrats. We’ll skip Jersey Girl just because it wasn’t a showcase piece of work.
I talked with Kayla this weekend and yesterday. She is feeling very overwhelmed with working and trying to find an apartment. We talked for a while and I feel confident that she is now refocused with a refined plan for a new apartment. I know she at least sounded better after our conversation.
The humidity has broken...finally...continuing to make early Fall my favorite season, at least in RI, where it is still very warm until at least November.
Today is starting out slow, but will prove to be a full day. I will be running my errands, picking up Hayley at 1:50, take her to the library, work with David for a few hours, pick up Hayley, run to the grocery store and then to Zach’s scrimmage to catch the last hour or so of that, and then home to make dinner and sign a milion papers no doubt, that the kids will have brought home from school. Mitch also has the first game of the season, tonight at 7 PM. I want to go. I want to be supportive. I want him to know how much I love him. Zach definitely wants to go, but these are early mornings, getting the kids up for school, and making me tired come 8:30 or 9 PM. I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t have to get up tomorrow and do it all again! Tomorrow is an early day for me and the kids. I have to drop them off to school and then get myself to work. I will be home at 3 tomorrow, so the kids will be pleased with that.
The four of us have been sneezing up a STORM the last few days. Not sure what it is from. Mitch thinks it is because we’ve had the air on, but then I’d have been sneezing all along because the air is always on at work and in my car. My sinuses are at least feeling better, despite the sneezing. I have cut out all wheat from my diet because I heard a rumor that diets high in wheat and yeast products can cause sinus trouble. It has been about a month since making the change. My waistline is definitely thanking me for cutting out the wheat, which also coincidently is full of CARBS! I’ve also cut out excess sugar, which contributes to sinus trouble. I still use a little in my coffee and in my tea, but I often prefer unsweetened tea anyway, so it hasn’t been so challenging. I had been drinking almost 32 ounces of McD’s sweet tea per day! I definitely feel less sluggish and my eyes aren’t itchy anymore. Still taking my fiber tabs and my multi-vitamin. I’ve probably lost 15 pounds or so, just cutting out the wheat and excess sugar.
We had fun over the weekend. Mitch joined us after his practice was done, while Hayley’s pics were finishing up and then we went to Providence Place. This is the kids’ favorite mall of our 5 or 6 to choose from because it has four floors. The first floor is about the size of most regular malls. Just x’s that by 4. There is one about about 15 minutes of traffic closer to us, a more traditional single floor mall with three or four anchor stores. One in Swansea, the one at Emerald Square, two that I know of in Connecticut close to us, and of course the two we always go to in CT when we shop with my sister. There is also outlet shopping in Wrentham and in CT. Zach DID inform us that he is not going back to Providence Place until he has a job! He found lots of things that he wanted that weren’t back-to-school necessities.
We rented three movies this weekend. Messengers 2. Don’t bother. Race to Witch Mountain. Not as good as the one I remember as a kid. But ok. The Watchmen. Good. Definitely something you have to watch more than once. Kind of hard to follow unless you are familiar with the story, but worth the effort. A movie you need to pay attention to, and not multi-task throughout or you’ll be lost. We also bought two new movies to add to our cult classic collection. Mallrats and one of my personal faves, Empire Records. Zach is really into Clerks, I & II, and Dogma, so I introduced him to Mallrats. We’ll skip Jersey Girl just because it wasn’t a showcase piece of work.
I talked with Kayla this weekend and yesterday. She is feeling very overwhelmed with working and trying to find an apartment. We talked for a while and I feel confident that she is now refocused with a refined plan for a new apartment. I know she at least sounded better after our conversation.
The humidity has broken...finally...continuing to make early Fall my favorite season, at least in RI, where it is still very warm until at least November.
Today is starting out slow, but will prove to be a full day. I will be running my errands, picking up Hayley at 1:50, take her to the library, work with David for a few hours, pick up Hayley, run to the grocery store and then to Zach’s scrimmage to catch the last hour or so of that, and then home to make dinner and sign a milion papers no doubt, that the kids will have brought home from school. Mitch also has the first game of the season, tonight at 7 PM. I want to go. I want to be supportive. I want him to know how much I love him. Zach definitely wants to go, but these are early mornings, getting the kids up for school, and making me tired come 8:30 or 9 PM. I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t have to get up tomorrow and do it all again! Tomorrow is an early day for me and the kids. I have to drop them off to school and then get myself to work. I will be home at 3 tomorrow, so the kids will be pleased with that.
The four of us have been sneezing up a STORM the last few days. Not sure what it is from. Mitch thinks it is because we’ve had the air on, but then I’d have been sneezing all along because the air is always on at work and in my car. My sinuses are at least feeling better, despite the sneezing. I have cut out all wheat from my diet because I heard a rumor that diets high in wheat and yeast products can cause sinus trouble. It has been about a month since making the change. My waistline is definitely thanking me for cutting out the wheat, which also coincidently is full of CARBS! I’ve also cut out excess sugar, which contributes to sinus trouble. I still use a little in my coffee and in my tea, but I often prefer unsweetened tea anyway, so it hasn’t been so challenging. I had been drinking almost 32 ounces of McD’s sweet tea per day! I definitely feel less sluggish and my eyes aren’t itchy anymore. Still taking my fiber tabs and my multi-vitamin. I’ve probably lost 15 pounds or so, just cutting out the wheat and excess sugar.
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