TWERKS and DDOTs

[supertrooper1]

One more day until the weekend!

[mommyatty]

DS had his second meeting with the educational psychologist yesterday. He did well, but she identified a new tic and a verbal tic, so we are likely looking at a visit to a neurologist to see if it’s Tourette’s or something else. DS got really upset at having to write. So who knows what that’s about, maybe dysgraphia, which would not shock me. His teacher thinks he has ADD, but then his teacher last year thought he was on the Autism spectrum, which the psychologist disagreed with completely. We will have our parents meeting with her by Zoom next Wednesday.

Crazy LinkedIn stalker looks at my LinkedIn page every freaking day. I wish LinkedIn would stop telling me that. It’s creepy. Ugh. I may have to block him at some point, if that’s even possible.

[sdlaura]

I've had a really tough morning. I typically have really great relationships with my clients, but one of them got very upset this morning. They weren't wrong (missed deadline, poor communication), but I basically proactively took all the blame for it during an hour-long call even though it was a result of a variety of factors. Then when the client got off the phone, the head of one of my firm's research teams basically blamed me for ruining her day. I could have really used some words of support or a thank you for taking all the blame, since she knows it wasn't mostly my fault.

I think all of this feels worse since the client and the research head are both women who are older than me and there aren't that many of us in our male-dominated industry. I'm also feeling really weepy today. I kept it together with everyone work-related, but cried to my husband and DS1's preschool teacher. And then DS2 didn't want to go to school because I think he was worried about me, even though I tried to assure him I was fine. TMI - I would normally be getting my period this week, but got it a week early last week right after my second COVID shot. So I think my hormones are all over the place.

And now I'm spending the rest of the day on various calls with people involved with the issue on various debriefs. Luckily I think I'm over being upset about it and just want to proactively address how to fix the issue for the future. I wish this was a more accessible client so I could just call her about talk about it informally, but instead I have to set up a call with her and her #2 through her assistant for some future date.

Oh, and then I presented on two other meetings immediately after that one (which was at 7 am). What a morning. I'm going for a run to blow off some steam before my next debrief.

[mustardseed2007]

My dog goes to boarding school tomorrow. It's hitting me that I'm really going to miss her!

Saturday is my birthday. My 40th Birthday.


I have plans to go out to eat with my sister and niece (who shares my birthday). We don't go out anymore so that's a big deal for us. But we're all vaccinated so....

[twinmomma]

The siding on my house isn't great. It's not in terrible shape, but there are a few broken pieces here and there from ice damage over the years. I had someone come out to quote me on fixing it up before we list it. They won't just replace the broken pieces, would have to redo the entire thing to the tune of $13k. Sounds like that's the next owner's problem to me...

Speaking of listing the house... I wish I had more of an update on that. So far we're just holding steady here due to the market insanity and the lack of stability with the restaurant. I want to talk with beau about setting more of a deadline to it, even if it's a deadline to revisit in x months, not make a decision. Right now I feel like we still window shop for houses online, we talk about doing it, but we're not actually ready to. I hate limbo, so I want to nail down more of a game plan.

[186momx]

I have tomorrow off along with the whole weekend! The plan is to sleep, nap, do lots of laundry, and clean the house that I haven't cleaned in almost a month (its gross). I got myself a COVID shot appointment Saturday at a mass vaccine clinic too. I also need to take my new car in so the can do the detail they couldn't do Sunday night.

DD earned a Harry Potter movie marathon and has a private lesson Saturday.

Weather is suppose to be gorgeous close to 80 with high winds. They issued a statewide burn ban and are very worried about forest fires starting. We've had a very dry April so far.

[phdmomma]

I have a giant "stack" of exams submitted online to grade, which oddly takes way longer than grading physical paper copies. But, at least the semester is almost over.

[mae0111]

TWERK - so after negotiating my rate up and the person at the marketing firm agreeing to the rate, it's been radio silence. She told me she had 2 projects for me, I quoted one, and she disappeared. I'm going to follow up, but I'm thinking that this won't work out. She really seemed to want high quality, strategic work for bargain basement prices. Oh well. On to the next thing.

DH had planned to go to his mom's earlier this week to deal with some work that needs to be done. His brother lives 2 minutes away (vs 5 hours for us), and he typically does this stuff for us. But Dh told me he was going to be away, so he had to go. Then DD2 got quarantined, and the week blew up, and I made a comment about his brother traveling for work... and DH let it slip (clearly by accident) that his brother wasn't traveling at all. So... DH left me in the middle of a mess to go hang out with his brother, when he totally could have canceled to be around to help me out.

The kids are on vacation next week, and I'm feeling optimistic. I'm really hoping it's a good week. Most of their friends are going away, but we've got little things planned each day that will hopefully make it fun. DH is taking next Friday off, so we're planning to go into the city and visit a museum and walk around. DD1 has been dying to go to this place, and DD2 always loves learning something, so I hope that it's a positive experience.

[supertrooper1]

Ex-H complained last week at drop off that the local police department wasn't doing enough with our money theft case, even though they had told him it would take priority after murder cases. Our small community only sees a couple murders per year and one just happened, so of course they're busy.

DDOT: I live on a dead end street at the end of another dead end street. It makes it quiet and hardly any traffic. Construction crews are finishing up paving the other dead end street which will eventually connect up with a busy road, so my quiet street will soon no longer be quiet.

[sandandsea]

I got my first shot yesterday and only had mild injection site pain. Dh too. I’ve been stalking the site and rules so as soon as we were eligible to book, I made appointments about an hour away. Only to wake up Tuesday seeing J&J (what ours were going to be before they were cancelled ) was put on hold so I immediately jumped onto all the sites again and found a place 35 mins away and was able to get two appointments for yesterday as they had also opened up earlier appointments in our county. I feel so lucky to have found appointments as it was hard and the eligibility kept changing. Getting the first shot was such a relief. I had more happy feelings about it than I expected.

We also booked our summer trip to Hawaii with the ILs since we will all be vaccinated and today is the 15th so I feel like I accomplished a ton in the past 4 days.

[k3am]

mae0111 the motto for consulting... good, fast, or cheap - pick two of the three, but you can’t have it all.

We’ve been stalking vaccine sites and can’t find shit. Yay?

[waverly]

Apr 15, 2021 18:50:25 GMT -5 k3am said:

mae0111 the motto for consulting... good, fast, or cheap - pick two of the three, but you can’t have it all.

We’ve been stalking vaccine sites and can’t find shit. Yay?

We’ve got quite a few now but every time I turn around we are opening another mass vax site. It flipped quickly from nothing to oh we have supply.

[sdlaura]

k3am this process works every time!

Go on the CVS website around midnight/12:15 am. That’s when they release all the appointments for 5-6 days later. Input your town and if nothing comes up, try nearby towns. This has worked for me to easily find people appointments in California, Maryland, Ohio, and Colorado - every state I’ve tried - so it should work for you, too.

ETA - sometimes the CVS website has been slow to update eligibility categories. So if you don’t see yours, just pick something and all eligibility categories will be eligible when you go.

[k3am]

Woot! Vaccine is scheduled 4/20 and 5/20 in a really shady neighborhood, but it’s scheduled!

[mae0111]

Ok... so do you remember the story about me ordering some fitness equipment, waiting 14 weeks, getting the runaround, and asking for a refund? And then after 2 more weeks and no refund, I filed a complaint for a fraudulent charge? And then the sales person called all hurt asking why I would do something like that??

So after I got my money, I posted accurate reviews about my experience. I posted on BBB, Yelp, and Google.

Sales person just called me again and asked me to “be reasonable” and to please remove the negative reviews.

??!!

I said, “Oh no, absolutely not. I would like everyone to know what kind of company this is.”

She said I was making her life difficult.

Oh. Um. Here’s a thought. Don’t lie to customers and steal their money, and you won’t get negative reviews. And if I’m so stressful to deal with, STOP CALLING ME!!

ETA: when I say “got my money”, I mean that the cc company approved my fraud alert and credited me. The company never refunded it. They claim they tried, but I didn’t give them a chance.

[mustardseed2007]

mae0111, what a shady place! And it's really interesting that they are trying to use guilt trips to get people not to tell the truth about what they are doing. It makes me wonder if this is family owned or something? Or do they just train all their employees to do that.

[mae0111]

mustardseed2007, so after I requested a refund (verbally and via email), the CEO was CC'd on the response to me. So I started digging. He's started up dozens of companies that do the same thing, all under different names, and there are literally hundreds of complaints against those companies and him in particular. But when I ordered, there weren't any negative reviews against this company in particular.

The salesperson was trying to act like we were friends that had a falling out. She said I seemed so nice, so reasonable... so why would I want her life to be more difficult? I should help her out and remove those reviews... Newp. Sorry.

[k3am]

DDOT: I now have 3 vaccine appointments. The flood gates have opened. I need to call and cancel the first two.

[mommyatty]

DH got vaccine #2 today. I’m so glad!

[campermom]

PDQ
STBX now wants to reduce his previously agreed upon days. He emailed the mediator to ask whether those days are mandatory for him to have. He also is arguing that a week is M-F and doesn’t include “another” weekend

We are at 80/20 and he wants less.

Another lawyer appt Monday.

[k3am]

campermom, he’s a peach. This surprises no one. I assume this also effects child support? You need to figure out a way to build in some downtime, and as a single parent, that doesn’t come cheap.

[xctsclrx]

campermom wow he and people like him are the reason why dad's have a bad rep.

I don't have any advice except don't fight him on it. You can't force him to parent or be a loving parent. Accept he is not going to co parent with you or help in anyway (might actively hurt you). Build your village. Lean on friends and family and I am so sorry he is doing this to them.

Also make sure CS is calculated to the highest amount. Don't give him a break on any of it. (((Hugs)))

[erinshelley21]

I'm so sorry for you and your kids campermom. You all will be better off in the long run, but its extremely frustrating I'm sure.

I have no advice, just sending you all the positive thoughts I can.

[waverly]

traveltheworld, how did everything work out for your friend? And your family following your Covid exposure?

Update: So we attended the professional sports game yesterday. We were supposed to go to the game a year ago when the world shut down. They did a great job distancing everyone. Parking was still the worst part.

However, besides signs and announcements masking wasn’t enforced. I thought maybe they might have someone walking around. I didn’t like that people were shouting without a mask. But we were outside and we wore our mask the entire time, so we did everything we could. Overall I think it will be OK, I was just a bit nervous.

mae0111- How is your FIL or father? I think it was you that said one had Covid?

[mae0111]

campermom, I don't even know what to say. I agree with others - if he's giving up time, make sure child support reflects that. You will need help and a break, and he will not provide it. I would also keep careful track of his time - even if he doesn't officially change it (to avoid paying you more), he might just not show up when he's supposed to, or cut his time short. So make sure you're tracking carefully so that you can amend child support if needed.

waverly, my dad seems to be on the mend. I'm very frustrated with my parents though. He refuses to get a PCR test to confirm the rapid test diagnosis. My mother refuses to stay home because she tested negative on Friday... but has been exposed EVERY SINGLE DAY since he started feeling sick, so she could very well develop it. And now she's trying to get my dad a vaccine appointment... IT'S TOO LATE!!! He has to wait now and if he truly has COVID, his immunity will be great after this anyway!!

We were all tested on Friday using a rapid PCR, and we all tested negative. So DH got his first shot yesterday, and I got mine today.

[traveltheworld]

Apr 18, 2021 8:01:51 GMT -5 waverly said:

traveltheworld, how did everything work out for your friend? And your family following your Covid exposure?

Update: So we attended the professional sports game yesterday. We were supposed to go to the game a year ago when the world shut down. They did a great job distancing everyone. Parking was still the worst part.

However, besides signs and announcements masking wasn’t enforced. I thought maybe they might have someone walking around. I didn’t like that people were shouting without a mask. But we were outside and we wore our mask the entire time, so we did everything we could. Overall I think it will be OK, I was just a bit nervous.

mae0111- How is your FIL or father? I think it was you that said one had Covid?

We are good. Today marks the end of our 14 day quarantine. Our friends are doing ok. The mom and kids have mostly recovered, the dad is still struggling but seems to be on the mend.

[twinmomma]

I have DDOT but I'm curious WWYD:
Beau's son started baseball last week. He's had two practices so far and has never played baseball or even really catch in the yard before, so he's very green. Last week he loved it and had a ton of fun. Last night the coach's son told him he sucks at baseball. Coach's son is a year older and much bigger. Beau's son got upset, cried a bit to his mom at practice, but was able to pull himself together and get back out there to play. This alone is HUGE for him. Normally we'd expect him to cry and refuse to participate any more and want to quit entirely.

I was trying to give beau advice on how to handle it. I really don't think they should make a huge deal out of it, like he and his ex want to. Should they tell the coach? Absolutely, if his son is being mean, he needs to know. But after that, I think you just have to explain to your kid that not everyone is going to make good choices and be a good friend. Avoid those people, encourage him to play with the nicer kids, and use it as a learning experience. Not saying brush it under the rug, but I cautioned beau against harping on it with his son and making it into A THING. Beau and Ex were talking about how this can escalate to bullying, the kid was really mean, etc. To me, it's just a fact of life/life lesson and they're taking it way too far with their reaction.

I tried to explain to beau that if his son was in school, he'd be navigating these things without his parents right there, so use this as a chance to teach him those skills. It's also a good chance to teach his son about how he can keep practicing and get better - growth mindset type stuff. I tried to explain that I've been there with the girls since they're older. But is that reaction too harsh?

[waverly]

twinmomma, how old is Beau's son? Also, it sounds like they are planning to tell the coach which sounds appropriate. What else were they planning that you thought made it into a THING?

[mommyatty]

twinmomma, I agree with you. What is the purpose behind bringing it up with the kid again? Remind him he felt bad? Encourage him to hold a grudge? Remind him the kid on his team is mean? MIL does shit like this all the time. She LOVES to nurse grudges. LOVES IT. And she loves to nurse grudges against people “who hurt her grandchildren” the most of all. I regularly have to tell her to knock that shit off. She still brings up that a little girl who was DD’s best friend made her cry at a Chick Fil A by saying she wouldn’t be her friend if she played with another kid. It happened when DD was 5. She’s now almost 9. What the f is the use in that?

[186momx]

twinmomma, I agree making a big deal about it and going on and on isn't the right thing. It actually shows the kid that maybe mom and dad think I suck too because they are making such a big deal about how I don't suck. I'm not wording that right. I also agree that as a 1st grader he would have dealt with this at school all year.

We ran into this when we tried t-ball in K. The only difference was the entire team worth of parents got to witness the coaches kid screaming that she can't play outfield as she is the best player on the team and make one of the kids that suck play outfield while she played 1st or pitcher (I can't remember now). Coach/mom made her sit out while we were on the field but then let her go and bat because she started another fit. It wasn't a great season and DD didn't love it so we didn't try it again.

If you have a small soft squishy ball (not a baseball) at home you can sit around the living room and practice catching by doing short tosses. I do this with DD in the office as it is quieter than her bouncing and catching the ball off the floor for PE.