Definitely Not!

First of all, I did NOT have such a boring and mundane week that I can’t think of much to say.

But….

I have NOT delayed packing for our 4 day camping trip that we leave for tomorrow night! That would be crazy.

I am NOT hoping this day at work goes by super duper fast because I have so much to do at home. Who would do that? Not me!

I am NOT starting to have major anxiety about taking a 7 yr old and a 2 yr old several hundred miles from home… to camp… in the mountains…. in the winter…. for 4 days.

I am NOT considering buying one of those harness/leash thingy’s for my 2 yr old, even though I have always thought they were a little animalistic. And it’s definitely NOT because I am starting to have so much anxiety about even the smallest of hiking trails in the mountains/desert. Not me!

Enjoy more "Not Me Monday" postings at MckMama's blog!

A Few Bucks

So on my lunch hour today I’m eating in my car and reading (something I do a lot because I’m an anti social weirdo), and this middle aged couple pull up next to me. The man gets out and comes around to my window which was cracked. He stayed far enough back to not seem threatening and he starts off with “can you do me a favor?”, so of course I know he wants money. Before I could speak, he tells me this long story about why he doesn’t have any money and why he needs it. The first part of the story I really don’t remember because my brain was too busy on alert; thinking the woman may come up to my other window while I’m distracted by him, and bash my head in or something (yes, I watch too much TV). But, as I relaxed and listened, I realized how much his story didn’t add up….and was therefore probably a lie to cover up whatever truth he felt would sound like an unacceptable reason to be panhandling. I finally had to interrupt him and say “I don’t have any money, I’m sorry” (which was actually the truth). He said “okay, thank you” and got back in his car.

This incident got me to thinking about all the times I’ve been approached for money, all the times I felt that the person had hidden reasons for panhandling, and the many times that I would shake my head no and go on my way. Somehow though I always manage to feel guilty later. What really causes people to end up in these situations? Drugs? Alcohol? Lots of poor decisions in life? Does anyone really panhandle because some fluke incident happened, like the one the man was trying to tell me today? It seems like if you are employable, have shelter, and in this man’s case have transportation you would have access to money and resources. Besides that, what would I have given him if I had cash on me, 2 dollars? That wouldn’t get him anything he would need in order to stop panhandling. Then again, should it really be a decision? If I have a few dollars, shouldn’t I just give it to whoever is asking regardless of why I think they need it? As a self-proclaimed Christian, I know that it isn’t okay for me to judge someone else, and I try very hard (most of the time) to fight that natural urge us humans seem to have, and not pass judgment so easily. On one hand I don’t want to enable the crackhead panhandler who wants to use my few bucks to buy a fix, but on the other hand I don’t know for a fact that’s what he’s going to do, and even if he does it might be better then him quitting cold turkey while living on the streets and possibly dying in a ditch. Seriously. I’ve thought about these things.

Lists

So I’ve been struggling to come up with a topic to write on this week. I haven’t posted in two weeks other then the “Not Me Mondays”. It doesn’t mean I haven’t had things going on to write about, I just haven’t felt like composing any of it into a story. So to keep it semi-short and semi-sweet, I’ve composed a few lists.

What’s stressing me out right now:

1)Alexandria is having trouble with classmates at school. To the point that I’m extremely upset and just beside myself over what to do about it.

2)I have been more and more disheartened by my church’s Sunday service. Yet I haven’t had the energy, courage, or gumption to go “church shopping”.

3)I am finding my weekday evenings short, cram packed full, and consistently unsatisfying.

4)I have been in more arguments with my husband these past few weeks then I even care to count.

5)And to top it all off, I have been extremely hormonal.

Fall has been a busy, busy time for us this year. From October till now we’ve managed to survive:

1) Alexandria’s birthday party
2) HOT Fair
3) Axtell’s Homecoming week
4) Halloween
5) Parent turkey dinner at Ally’s school
6) Carnival (where Ally was 2nd grade duchess)
7) Flu shots for the girls
8) A garage sale

Still to come this month:

1) Parent turkey dinner at Olivia’s preschool
2) Alexandria’s 2nd grade class performance at the PTA meeting tonight
3) Thanksgiving family camping trip

Wow. That was actually a little therapeutic to organize it all into lists!

No Yo El Lunes

Or better known as Not Me Monday...

First of all, I have NOT been suffering from writer’s block with my blog this week.

Secondly, I did NOT get super frustrated at work on Friday and then proceed to write a totally passive-aggressive email to my supervisor. Not me!

I did NOT drive to work this morning hoping and praying that my email did not come across in any way that I did not intend.

And……I am NOT wishing I could get out of the Turkey dinner at work today, even though I got up early and made homemade macaroni and cheese.

Because I am NOT feeling anti-social today, not at all! Not me.

Enjoy more "Not Me Monday" postings at MckMama's blog!

Just Another Manic Monday

Remember that song? Anyway....

I did NOT read the last half of the 3rd Twilight book PLUS the entire 4th Twilight book (minus the last two chapters) in three days. No way, I have much cooler things to do on the weekends then have my nose in a book!

I did NOT get into at least 4 arguments in two hours with my mother while planning our family camping trip.

And saving the best for last……

I did NOT get myself into an altercation (at my daughter’s school carnival, no less) with two other parents on Saturday. Not me, I’m way too anti confrontational for that!

Enjoy more "Not Me Monday" postings at MckMama's blog!

I Voted

My husband and I dashed into the voting polls (kids in tow) at around 6:30pm last night. Alexandria (my 7 year old) has been pretty interested in the whole process. So on the way home from voting I told her that originally women were not allowed to vote. I explained that back then their opinions were not considered important, furthermore it was considered that they should just adopt whatever opinion their father or husband had. I asked her what she thought about this and without any hesitation (that’s my girl!) she replied “not fair”. Afterwards, I actually began to feel elated by being part of something so historic; something so much bigger then myself. Not just having voted for the first Black president, but for having voted. Yeah, I voted in the last two elections but it wasn’t quite the same. This election was big. Plus after explaining to my daughter how women were not allowed to vote in the past, I realized that even if my single vote would somehow never get counted, even if the person I chose hadn’t won….I still voted. I still practiced a right that many American women fought for; a right that our soldiers still fight to keep today—Freedom. The Freedom of choice, Freedom to walk into the voting booth and give my opinion. I was able to look at two potential candidates and then choose who I wanted as my nation’s leader; and my opinion was not silenced.

Say Cheese.....Please?

The day after Halloween we had a scheduled photo shoot with Sears. In hindsight this wasn’t the best planning on my part; to get two tired, cranky, kids with “Halloween hangovers” up and dressed for a photo shoot. It actually sounds pretty stupid now that I’m writing it. Anyway, the morning started out bad right off the bat. The girls got up fairly early despite having gone to bed on sugar highs at around 11:30 the night before. Alexandria was especially sassy and proceeded to get herself in trouble several times before even leaving the house. Olivia on the other hand was in a decent mood. She even tried to finish dressing herself while I was busy arguing with Alexandria; she came into the room with her long sleeve brown shirt that I put on her, announcing that she now had her pants on-- which were some polka dotted shorts she picked out of the clean laundry pile on the couch….oh and she added socks as a finishing touch. So after I searched for Olivia’s jeans (finally determining that I would have to buy some at Sears before the photo shoot) and got Alexandria ready, I only had time to put my contacts in and throw on some jeans with my t shirt. No makeup, and no teeth brushing (yeah, I’m not afraid to admit it). We raced across town to Sears. On the way, Alexandria dropped her earring down the crack of the seats and then burst into tears (which is what cranky, sleepy, dramatic 7 year olds do). We get to Sears at about 10:25, the appointment is in 5 minutes. I fold the backseat down, find the earring and we rush into the store, quickly find a pair of jeans, try them on Olivia, tear the tag off and take it to the counter to purchase, run up the escalator arriving 10 minutes late for the appointment and then…….we wait.

We wait about 15 minutes for someone to even greet us. When they do, they cannot find my information, so I have to refill out the form. We wait a few more minutes and then they call us into the studio. I won’t say the name of the photographer (and I use that term loosely) but it rhymes with “Shmomique”. She says “what kind of pictures do you want with what backgrounds”, I say “ummm, some of them separate and some together, but I don’t know what backgrounds”. She stares at me to the point that I wonder if I said something weird. Then the shoot begins. First of all, she seemed pretty uncomfortable dealing with kids, secondly she obviously didn’t read the children’s names and ages that Sears made me print on the form. Then Olivia decides to change her cheery disposition of the morning and be totally…..TWO. She says “I don’t want to take my picture”. I explain that everyone wants to see her pretty pictures so could she please do it because it will be so much fun. Then Olivia steps in front of the camera and when asked to smile, she says “no, I don’t want to” and looks away. After a few minutes of this, I finally realize that “Shmomique” is out of her element in dealing with a 2 year old, so I decide if I want to get some smiling pictures of my baby I’ll have to make a fool of myself. To get Olivia to even crack a vague smile I had to wear ridiculous prop hats and make goofy faces behind “Shmomique’s” head. With each new background and pose change, Olivia pressed a little harder to get out of the photo shoot. I shamelessly bribed her with candy, gum, and a toy if she would just “look at the lady and smile”. Every once in a while “Shmomique” would peek her head out from behind the camera and mumble, “smile Livy”. Wow, thanks for your help lady.
So when we were finally done, I was told to wait at the computer table to view my pictures. We waited at least 20 minutes…….by this point all three of us had had enough. I went to the counter to see if someone, anyone could come and pull my pics up. The woman came over and we went through all the pictures. I was frustrated that the combination of an incompetent photo specialist (as Sears calls them) and a cranky 2 year old made for very few frame worthy pictures; unfortunately that didn’t stop me from spending 140.00. (big sigh)

Halloween

Or Halloweena as Olivia insists that it's called......either way we had a good one.



We started off Trick or Treating at Grandma's house...




Daddy and the girls on the hunt for candy....




Mommy and the girls stop to pose...




And later that night, as we pulled into our driveway....




SEE YOU AT THE POLLS TOMORROW!