10/19/05

It never ends it seems. We are always so busy, and the house is SOO trashed. Only two more weeks and we are done with this session of swimming and soccer.

Mercedes might not be playing soccer after this season. She really (REALLY) made me angry last night (can we say livid?). Since I am the asst coach I have to be out on the field. Mercedes was complaining that her legs hurt so I sent her to the sidelines to sit down with Miss Caroline. When we got to the break, she was playing, PLAYING! with another little boy. Oh yeah, I was irate. We had a little discussion about lying and I made her sit down with Miss Michelle and watch the other kids finish the game. TO add to my already boiling temper, she decided to sit there and scream at the top of her lungs. Not only did I feel like a terrible Mother, but everyone else there probably thinks I am a cruel mother as well. Not a good day for either of us.

I did get the girls signed up for their next set of lessons. Thankfully it will all be on Saturdays. That relieves a lot of the stress in the evenings. Plus, Derek finishes school mid-November, so he won't be so stressed. Plus he will have more time to do things, I hope, around the house.

Alexis completely shocked me last night, though in a good way. My shy, retiring 11 year old tried out for choir with absolutely no (zero, nada, none) encouragement from any of us. I don't know if she made it yet, though I fully expect her to. I think it is fantastic that she even tried. She's obviously getting more confidence. Her only concern was that we would have a problem taking her since they will be practicing two morning a week before school. Heck, no! I will always bend over backwards to support the kids activities, especially when it is what THEY want.

Speaking of the kids activities, Mercedes, Alexis, and Derek are all testing for their next belt on Friday. It seems like they just started but he has now been several months so I know it's probably about right. Time sure flies. I expect Alexis and Derek to get their belts. Mercedes I am not so sure about, but hey, at least she's making progress.

This week at work has been a whirlwind. I am doing about a million things, none of them well. Plus I am missing class (again) on Friday, or at least part of it. I am hoping to make the last half, though I am not holding my breath. I am also going to try to get some work done on my paper in the next week. I want to hand it in early, so I can brief it and be done. I also hope I can do well on the upcoming mid-term since I have missed so much class. Sigh! There goes my A.

Mason is starting to eat solids now. In fact, he seems to require solids at least once a day. He really liked the cereal mixed with banana he got the other day. He's also almost over his cold which I am extremely grateful for. It sounded awful when he coughed. I found a really cute little outfit for him to wear for pictures so he will look so cute. I am debating about getting the girls dresses, but we will wait and see. He's trying to sit up when he lays down but he's not quite there yet. He's also getting closer to sitting on his own. I am going to get him a walker or one of the bouncers that hang in a doorway for Christmas. If nothing else, Grandma can use it to corral him in. His hair is getting very thick now and he's very beautiful. He seems to know it too, the little munchkin. He has a knack for smiling a big, toothy grin when he's being a poop. He's entirely too cuddly and is probably going to be outrageously spoiled. Sigh, Mercedes take 2.

The girls scare me occasionally with their beauty. They both still have the little girl features, but 'Lex in particular is losing hers rapidly. Every once in a while the girls do something or turn a certain way and I see the promise of the beauty they are becoming. There will be no dating! Seriously, I see a lot of potential pitfalls that I am not sure Derek and I are prepared for. Then again, I could just be biased and seeing things that aren't there. Only time will tell, I guess.

I started a new series of books by Christine Feehan. If you like steamy romance novels with a supernatural twist these are for you. I like them. Of course, I tend to like supernatural stuff anyways. I am impatiently waiting for the next Mercedes Lackey book (either Valdemar series, or To Light a Candle series), and the next Harry Potter movie and book. Why is it that I read faster than they produce? It's very irritating. And why can't I read the technical stuff as fast? It is nice to be able to read without feeling guilty for not doing schoolwork or working on mm thesis (not that that really stopped me).

I went out and bought Batman Begins and Tarzan last night. You just can't beat Batman - ever. Granted the second Batman movie with Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Penguin (Danny Devito) was not great, however, it's Batman. And let me just say, there is something incredibly cool about a guy with no superhuman powers who has trained and developed himself. It's just cool, there is no other way to describe it. Perhaps I am biased against "real" superheros, however, Batman is and shall always remain my favorite "super" hero. And no, I do not have a thing for men in form fitting Kevlar and bat ears, you perverts.

If I didn't know better, I would think I was pregnant again. No, I am not, at least I better not be. If I am I am going to be a bit miffed. Anyways, I was leaving area C (for those not familiar with the area, there are three geographic areas to the base that have separate entry points) and there was what looked to be a fairly bad accident. There was an SUV (that looked like Caroline's) on it's side on the median. If there were other vehicles they were hidden by the convergence of both the Fairborn and WP fire departments, their emergency service vehicles (not the fire trucks, the SUVs they use for the Fire Chief), the various police officers, and the paramedics. The part that got me was not the woman sitting on the median with her head in her hands. It was the small child laid out next to her that I did not see movement from (but I was in a moving vehicle with my attention not fully focused) and surrounded by emergency technicians. Why did it hit me so hard? I really don't know, but I was in tears. Literally. I was terribly frightened for that little person laying their on the concrete. There was just something terribly sad and frightening about it. I sincerely hope he/she was ok. And I hope to God that is never one of my kids. It was definitely a reminder to make sure they are always buckled in and using the proper safety apparatus.