Dazed and Confused

Dear Chatty:
Yesterday I had a lovely parent teacher conference with your Kindergarten teacher Miss Johnson. She couldn't say enough sweet things about you. Miss Johnson said you are a born leader, transition from one activity to the next in an appropriate manner, willingly participate in all activities, is always happy and greets her with the biggest smile everyday, plays with everyone in the class, helps her peers, intelligent (at or above levels in all subjects/areas), to name a few. According to Miss Johnson you are a pure joy to have in class. Wow - I was so proud!

Fast forward to this morning when you were in major meltdown number 29 (or 59, it has been so many I have lost count) this week. What happens to you when I drop you off? Do you turn into another child? I mean seriously, the Chatty that was at my house this morning could not possibly be the same Chatty who is a prized pupil in Miss Johnson's class everyday. What do you do with her at 3:00pm every weekday, stuff her in your backpack and not let her out until you get back to school? What can I do to make sure she appears at my house during non-school hours? Your Dad and I are willing to try almost anything (within reason) to get prized pupil Chatty to make a regular appearance at our house. Let me know ASAP! Thanks.

I Love You,
Mom

Support and Mom of the Year

Thanks for all of the sweet comments. Just so you know (here I go thinking about what other people think of me) I don't write stuff to get people to say nice things to make me feel better (not that I don't appreciate it, because I really do) or for a pity party. I just write what I feel as I am sure most of you do as well. Generally I am a pretty happy kind of person and secure in my place in this world ... well most days! Anyway - thanks for the support ladies!

Update on Mom of the Year Award: At the end of last weekend's soccer game, Chatty comes running off the field shouting "Mom, I scored a goal!" I look at her and say "You don't mean the one that you kicked and then stopped going after (just like the week before) and the kid from the other team accidentally kicked it in?" "No mom, I scored another goal and you weren't even paying attention" Mr. ESPN walks over and confirms that she did score one herself. Me - "Great job Chatty I am so proud of you." Then I turn to the two moms I was chatting with during the game and told them I am not allowed to talk to them during the games anymore because between watching Bia and talking to them I couldn't pay attention and see Chatty's first goal. To top it off Mr. ESPN and I forgot to bring the camera too ... lucky Chatty was so excited about scoring and the after game snack that she didn't get mad at me for missing the goal. Hope you are are fairing better in the Mom of the Year Award category!!

Phone Calls and Friends

This is the post I didn't want to write but I knew it was coming. Godfather's (Chatty's Godfather) dad passed away yesterday. He called yesterday afternoon and told Mr. ESPN. All afternoon I kept thinking about things and feeling guilty that I hadn't talked to Godfather as much in the past few years. I used to be the one he called when something bad happened (i.e. when his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer - she is in remission now). We have laughed and cried over many things during our friendship. But lately (the last five years or so ... do you see the correlation? Chatty is 5 1/2 ) it's Mr. ESPN who listens to him and takes his calls and so many times I am relieved because I am in the midst of doing three different things (like most moms). But as I look back I feel guilty and know I should have stopped what I was doing and made time for some of those phone calls.

Last night I asked Mr. ESPN to call Godfather and check on him (because I was getting the girls ready for baths and bed) .. they spoke for a few minutes and then Mr. ESPN handed me the phone. Godfather and I finally had a chance to talk. He is doing well, is at peace with his father's death and knows it is God's will. That gives me so much comfort. We laughed a little and I cried a little (a lot to Mr. ESPN after I got off the phone). So later this week we will see him and his family at the services. I haven't seen his mom in several years, prior to that time she and I had lunch almost monthly (those of you who know me personally know the story behind this .. it is long and I am not going to go into it here). So needless to say it will be a bit awkward and I am nervous and sad.

I am going to try and make more time for those phone calls now ... from Godfather and my other friends and family too.

Momma's Girl

Do you ever have those mornings where you just can't seem to get out of bed? That happens to me just about every single day. I hate getting up in the morning. To be fair I get this trait from my mom. My mom is not a morning person at all! Chatty is a total morning person - happy, talkative (big surprise huh?), etc. Generally Bia is a little more subdued than her big sis, but she is usually pretty happy in the mornings. Yesterday I heard Bia wake up so I went in her room to get her up. Usually she gets up willingly with a big grin and her puppy in her arms. But yesterday she refused to get out of bed and kept yelling, "No, my bed". I checked to make sure she wasn't sick and knew she had gotten plenty of sleep the night before. This little discussion with Bia went on for about ten minutes with the same answer from her "No, my bed!" Finally I had to pick her up and carry her into the bathroom screaming "No, my bed!" I looked at her and said "Sweet Bia Momma wants her bed too!". If I didn't have to go to work I would have climbed back into Bia's bed with her! So yesterday at 6:30 am it was confirmed that Bia is indeed my child, not that it wasn't already obvious with the 9 months of pregnancy, delivery, brown eyes and stubborn personality!

Tuesday Night Thoughts

I was thinking about several things last night, you know the normal stuff like questioning if I am a good mom or not (especially after reading this post), the hectic pace of my life after reading this post (yes I am way over extended most days and it comes out in my parenting) and how I am always concerned if I offended someone or wonder what they think of me. I have a habit of being pretty honest with people, which isn't always a good thing and has gotten me into more than one predicament in life. Needless to say because of that, I have a tendency to worry if I offend someone. I often wonder why I can't be more like Mr. ESPN (or most other men) who don't really care what other people think (within reason). Ahh the joys of being a woman! Anyway to add to my already hectic schedule I am attending a women's bible study tonight at my church geared toward young moms. They are offering it once a month in hopes that we can make the time to attend. I am really looking forward to it and think it will be good for me but .... it meant in order to work out today I had to get up at 4:40 am at the gym by 5:15 am ... rush out of work to pick up Chatty ... rush home and meet Mr. ESPN and Bia ... eat a quick bite (good thing I have leftovers from all the cooking this weekend) ... and rush to church. What was it I was just saying about being over extended?

A Few More Things ...

I forgot to mention that my Cous is having a birthday today! I know a few of my readers read her blog too so go over and wish her a happy one (even though it is a little late in the day - hey I am on the west coast!). Cous - wish I could be there to celebrate with you ... we need to plan another girls trip after Baby C arrives!

So Chatty's Poppa got some photos of the almost goal ... see below

I am not sure what she is telling them - but she likes to talk with her hands

Look at her go ...


Last person to beat ....

Then she stops and does some little hop while the goalie picks up the ball! UGH!

Hotter than Heck Soccer

So Chatty had her first soccer game on Saturday. October and it was at least 100 degrees. It was insane. I was melting and the ants were biting my feet! Chatty almost scored a goal - she got the ball ... dribbled it down the field super fast .... and then decided to stop when the goalie came out so she wouldn't kick him! I told her she has to keep kicking until it is in the goal - who cares who gets in the way! Yes I am one of those moms that screams loudly! The next period she played she wanted to play goalie. She did OK but she is much better on offense because she is pretty tall and fast (or supa fast as she calls it). We had a discussion after the game about using out talents and playing the positions we are better suited for ... i.e. offense. You would think since Mr. ESPN is an assistant coach he could make sure she doesn't play goalie but obviously he doesn't always listen to me!

So both girls are back at school today. I think they were fine yesterday but I wanted to make sure they were both fever free for 24 hours. I don't know how all you stay at home moms do it - they drove me absolutely NUTS yesterday! It didn't help that my computer was having issues yet again ... piece of junk ... I even told the help desk I was ready to throw it into the wall - so I couldn't get any work done. So instead I re-organized my linen closet.

I'll be goalie!

And this is what Bia did while Chatty was playing soccer:

Chillin on Poppa's lap


OK - if you insist, I will smile!


I'm the goalie Mom!

Waiting for the ball

I will post tomorrow about the Soccer Mom ruckus ....

Just Call Me Paula ...

Dean that is, because I cooked, cooked and cooked some more this weekend. I cooked more this weekend than I have in the past few months. Between yesterday and today I made the following: pork burritos, homemade salsa, cake balls, pulled bbq beef, twice baked potatoes, chicken spaghetti (yes from Pioneer Woman) and cupcakes. Why you ask? Because it is what southern women do when anyone is sick. Remember when I posted about Chatty's godfather and his dad ... well it isn't good news. They say he has kidney cancer that metastasized to the bone and gave him six months to live. So Godfather flew in from Austin on Friday. Yesterday I made the burritos, salsa and cake balls (it was Godfather's birthday yesterday) and sent that with some lasagna I had made and frozen the weekend before, a bag of chips and a bottle of wine (I figured Godfather, his mom and his sister could use a glass) with Mr. ESPN over to Godfather's parents house. Poor guy has been eating take out and PB&J ... I would have gone too but Chatty has gotten the flu or something similar and has had a fever for the past two days. Anyway after hearing about the take out and PB&J I proceeded to make BBQ beef, twice baked potatoes, chicken spaghetti and cupcakes today. My delivery service (aka Mr. ESPN) will deliver it over his lunch break tomorrow since I will be working from home tomorrow with sick kid Chatty ... please say a prayer for Godfather and his family. He is like a brother to me and I hate that I can't be there with him ... also if you have any other suggestions on meals and/or casseroles that I could make - let me know. I need some other ideas to send over next weekend.

Fall? NOT!

Ok all of y'all have been posting your fall favorites and guess what? It is supposed to be 102 here today - WTH? I am so done with summer I can't even tell you. I am so jealous of you all who are having actual fall weather. The wedding we went to yesterday was outside ... generally by this time of year it is beautiful here. Yesterday it was hot - poor groom was sweating bullets as was Mr. ESPN! Luckily it was a short (but very sweet) ceremony and it felt good in the shade! Chatty had a great time - as always. She is a party girl - loves to have parties and loves to dance! Here are some pics from the wedding.

Nat, Chatty and me

Our family minus Bia ... she went to school while we went to the wedding (my big TX hair was getting in the way of Chatty's face!)

Chatty and I

Mr. ESPN and Chatty

Toasting the bride and groom ... it's cider y'all!

My little dancing queen with the bride, Kingston Queen

The Cake - super cute and tasted great too!

I gave both of these ladies their first jobs ... great hires by me! (yes I know I need a better bra with this dress. It's on my list.) Seriously - two of the sweetest girls I know! It was great seeing you Nat!

Thursday Thoughts

1. The ladies have spoken, Mr. ESPN shall remain - if Dennis doesn't like it he can start his own blog (yeah - like that will ever happen). Although I did laugh about Laurie's suggestion of "Sweet Love". That would only work if I blogged when I was drunk. Not sure that would work since I blog a lot from work.
2. Bunco - had a nice time with the ladies last night but didn't win a darn thing ... last month I won the prize and my cash back. Oh well still a good excuse to hang with the neighborhood ladies. Plus my neighbor brought me her daughter's Little Red Riding Hood costume for Chatty to use. Gotta love hand me downs!
3. At soccer practice one of the dad's told me that he went to school to have lunch with his son. His son is in another Kindergarten class (who happens to have the same lunch period as Chatty's class). Chatty walked all the way over to this boy's table to say hi to his dad and remind him they play soccer together. Can you tell she is super social and loves all the kids dads?
4. My sweet friend the Kingston Queen is getting married tomorrow and will officially become the Queen. She is such a sweet person and great friend. It's weird to think I hired her out of college 6 or so years ago (I think it has been that long). Chatty is going to the wedding with us so she can see what it is like in preparation for her Flower Girl duties in January, plus she loves a good party and dancing! I will post some pic this weekend or early next week.
5. First soccer game of the new season on Saturday ... Chatty is very excited to be playing again ... Nana and Poppa will be there for all the action. May have some stories about the new Soccer Team Mom who is causing quite the rucus ...

Say My Name, Say My Name, Say My Name

Ok now I will have that Beyonce song in my head all morning. I was talking to Mr. ESPN last night and said, hey I gave props to your Phillies on the blog yesterday - you want to see it? I pull it up and he looks at it and criticizes it. First he says it is copyright infringement with the logo, then complains that I may jinx his team by posting about them and finally says "can't you think of a better name for me on the blog?" Before I started the blog I asked him for suggestions for the blog title and our "character" names. Did he have any suggestions or want to be bothered with it at that time? Nope! Last night when he complained about being called Mr. ESPN, I asked him if he had suggestions for a different name and of course he didn't. Sounds like most politicians these days, complain about the current state of affairs (i.e. health care, etc.) and have no valid solution to put forth! I thought this name was perfect for him since he is so obsessed with sports and that channel (or one of it versions, i.e. ESPN2, ESPN News, etc.) is on at our house more than any other channel. I won't even go into how he brought a second tv into the family room last weekend so we could watch 2 games at one time (no that wasn't the first time he has done that).

So ladies I will send it out there to you ... any suggestions on a blog name for him? His real name is Dennis (don't ask why I don't just use our real names - I just thought it would be fun to go by something a little different), growing up his family called him Dennie (I hate this name with a passion sounds like a pansy), in college they called him Big D (I hate this for him too because Big D is Dallas not my husband) and most of the time I just call him D. I am sure he will be thrilled that I am asking other women for their opinion on his blog name, but that's what you get when you complain.

Phillie Phanatics

So in honor of the Phillies victory last night we read the following book:

Chatty even asked me to insert Chase Utley's (her favorite Phillies player) name in the book while I was reading it and then proceeded to tell me "I knew it was Chase they were talking about" (don't you know she knows just about everything? Don't all 5 1/2 year olds?). Needless to say the ESPN household was happy last night, now on to the NLCS. Don't ask me how I became such a baseball fan, I literally despised it until Mr. ESPN got me into the Phillies. The things you do for love .. whatever, I think it was the cute guys that did it for me!

BTW - we also have the University of Arizona and Florida State University books - great gift for kids - they have them for most major colleges and for the professional teams too!

Did you Know?

Since my teams lost this weekend and I don't want to talk about football (I am getting close to calling for a quick end to the season and a new start next year), I thought I would play a little game called did you know ... Did you know I was a professor at the University of Manitoba and I teach about pop culture (who would have ever thought)? I also live in Portland, OR and have a daughter who is a high school senior ... I bet you never did. I am sly like that. One other thing, did you know that Chatty has her own blog and she goes by her real name and that she has a kid - oh crap - that makes me on young granny! I was playing with google this morning and googled my name to see what I could come up with (Results - professor and mother of high school senior). Then I tried googling my maiden name (which happens to be Chatty's first name) and found this blog. Craziness I tell you!

So I still don't have my computer back, but I did get a call from the tech last Friday and he said he didn't think he could save anything from my hard drive! Lovely ... other than that our weekend was good. Mr. ESPN requested to spend as much time at home on Saturday to watch football and golf and baseball. I happily obliged but I made sure to go to the gym, Target, Old Navy, etc. for several hours while he was home with the girls. Hey he never said he wanted to watch alone. Too bad for him Chatty was non-compliant (to put it mildly) most of the day!

This picture is blurry but I love her smile in it!

Not wanting to share her toy ... this face is way too frequent!

A little dress up action with the neighbor's stuff

Run baby run .. Flying JR's Kite (JR's dad helping out)

I can't tell if she is "raising the roof" or getting ready to give someone a high five!

She's showing the love for her Daddy's team ... GO PHILLIES! Chatty loves the Phillies just like her dad. I wished I would have thought about it earlier and I could have had grandma get her a Phillies jersey and she could have gone as a player ... but grandma and grandpa leave for Italy on Wednesday so that won't work ... I tried to get them to take me with them on their trip but looks like I will be staying in the desert with Mr. ESPN and the girls!

Our Fearless Leader

Last week I had a day off and volunteered in Chatty's classroom. Since I wasn't going to work Chatty was able to ride the bus to school. She was super excited (as was Bia who packed a backpack with her blankies, puppy and monkey to take sissy to the bus stop). So we get to the bus stop and Chatty patiently waits for JR (neighbor across the street) to get there. He gets there and shortly afterwards the bus pulls up. All the kids get in line to get on and the following happens:

The afternoon bus (the only one Chatty had ridden up until last week) is #122, but apparently the morning one is #119. I didn't even look at the numbers, knowing all my neighbors kids who ride the bus everyday (including JR) were getting on and going to the same school as Chatty. A frantic Chatty yells, "JR this isn't our bus, our bus is #119, this is #122, we can't get on" and pulls JR away from the bus. JR looks a little bewildered but says "OK" and follows Chatty's lead. I calmly assured Chatty this was the correct bus and told her and JR to get on. As I am leaving the bus stop I am relaying the story to my neighbor and she says "Oh she will make a great wife - already giving directions and telling the boys what to do." Then another neighbor (a husband) says "Yep and like a good husband JR followed right along!"

Then when I get to school Chatty's (fabulous) Kindergarten teacher tells me how much she enjoys having Chatty in her class and what a natural leader she is. I was thinking to myself, if only you saw her in action at the bus stop this morning! Besides saying great things about my kid, her teacher has the patience of a saint. God bless her, she is amazing with those kids! We are very lucky to have her!

So my computer is still broken ... our help desk is worthless. Apparently it wasn't the motherboard - although I have a new "refurbished" one, it is a software problem now. At the earliest I will get my laptop back at the end of the day but probably not until sometime tomorrow - if I am lucky! In the meantime I have been looking all over the Internet for costume ideas (yes I know great to do at work .. but in my defense it is my lunch hour and I do the best online shopping when I am at work). I thought a geisha girl would be cute for both of the girls. Mr. ESPN had bought Chatty a silk dress when he was in China a couple years ago (he also bought me a silk robe and I briefly-very briefly contemplated dressing up with them). I figured the dress would fit Bia - great one costume resolved until I figured out that I can't find the silk dress anywhere in my house and mind you, I am very OCD organized with labeled containers full of kids/baby clothes! What the heck?!? I still have Chatty's old Nemo costume but Bia is "Miss Independent" so I am not sure if she will wear it, but knowing her she wouldn't decide not to wear it until October 31! So with that in mind I have been looking for other costumes and ideas. I did find this cute Dalmatian costume online at Old Navy.

I need to run Old Navy and see if they have one in the store. They also had this cute monkey one too for half the price. Seeing as she has to sleep with Puppy and Monkey every night, I thought these might make her happy.

I need to see what they have in the store (good excuse to buy some more yoga pants/capris .... I heard they had some on sale from my blogging friends). I will show Bia these pictures tonight and see what she thinks. Still no ideas for Chatty ... she has been the following ... 50's girl (poodle skirt my mom made), Minnie Mouse (another costume idea I had for Bia but can't find this one either - what the heck is going on? I think it got donated), Nemo and Cinderella. She likes princesses but isn't huge into them, hence the reason I haven't thought about any of the other Disney princesses. Any time I suggest a costume idea she says "YES". Darn kid loves everything, well not really, she just likes to change her mind a lot - what can I say she is an indecisive girl!

Wordy Wednesday

So I was going to write a post about how I am going to go postal on Dell, similar to the lovely Coco's post earlier this week and tell you how the Dell technician employed by the very large company I work for failed to show up yesterday to fix my laptop so I am working on a ghetto fabulous laptop, but I will refrain .... why you ask? Because it actually rained in the desert this morning (can I get a hallelujah?) and Chatty and I saw a rainbow on the way to school (always puts a smile on our faces) and her teacher put a sweet note on her homework last night thanking her for her hard work and being such a great leader (here's proof that the bossiness can be good at times!) and I heard Open Arms by Journey on the radio this morning (love this song - I know every single word and always think of Jr and Sr high school dances and boyfriends when I hear it).

BUT if the lovey Dell tech is not in my building today and does not fix my laptop with the "refurbished" (can't even deliver a "new" part) motherboard that was delivered to his desk yesterday, then I may go postal on him. He better watch out, three generations of my family have worked for the post office! Have a lovely day everyone!

PS - Any suggestions on Halloween costumes for Bia and Chatty? I am at a loss for ideas right now.

EDIT - Question from Casey regarding the costumes - would be cute if they coordinated but not necessary.

Monday, Monday, Monday!

It has been an interesting day ... got up and everything was going like normal Mondays do well except for the fact that I actually liked the way my hair turned out and thought my outfit looked pretty cute (both of those things don't usually happen on the same day and especially not on a Monday) ... I was just about to put my stuff in the car to take Chatty to school and she proceeds to throw up on her back pack (Bia stayed home from school on Friday because she threw up twice but then was perfectly fine by the afternoon and played all weekend without any issues). Nice! It wasn't a lot and I kind of questioned whether she was really sick or not (as she was begging to run around and play) ... but I didn't want to be THAT MOM again and send her to school. So I changed clothes, told Chatty to lay in her bed and read books and then e-mailed my boss to let him know I would be working from home. Then a few hours later as I am working on my laptop, I get the dreaded blue screen. Called my IT desk and lo and behold the motherboard crashed! Perfect timing, since it is quarter end close at work and the parts won't be here until tomorrow! What a lovely Monday! I guess it is payback for beautiful weather this weekend with lots of time playing outside with the neighbors! BTW - I guess Chatty really didn't feel good, she fell asleep in her room ... hopefully she will be back to her normal self tomorrow!

A couple pics from weekend ...

Soccer anyone?

She can be so mischievous!

Similar to her goggles, Chatty likes to keep her helmet on when playing outside. They would go from scooters to bikes to wagon and back again several times. Safety First!

Ready for batting practice

Mr. ESPN snapped these photos during her nap on Saturday!

Proof that my children sleep with tons of lovies.

In this pic - Puppy, Monkey, Pluto, Big Blankie and Little Blankie oh and Bia too!