It finally got hot here. We went from 15-20 degrees below normal and insane rain to 10 degrees above normal and insane humidity. The sunny side (no pun intended) is we got to do our first family swim yesterday and it felt amazing.
Saturday I took the kids with a friend to the Safari park. They got to throw food pellets out to feed animals and got to hand feed a giraffe out the sunroof. We all had a great time.
ETA- today is our 24th anniversary. We have officially been married more than half our lives. We are going to celebrate next weekend with dinner at a fancy restaurant.
Kids finished school on Friday, and they celebrated by weeding the landscaping beds due to bad behavior. It improved from there…
DD1 had a playoff softball game - they lost by a run. Then we rushed to the end of season cookout at a teammate’s house - so much fun! Their team really stunk, but the kids and parents were just so nice (for the most part. We had a great time!
Saturday evening I met some high school friends for dinner. I hadn’t seen them since last August, aside from a funeral for one of their parents. It was so good to catch up.
Yesterday we ran around the house preparing for some work happening at our house this week. Then I took DD2 to a birthday party. It was 30 mins away and only 90 mins long, so I stayed there. I really enjoy the moms in DD2’s class (much more than DD1’s class) so it was nice to chat with everyone.
As someone with social anxiety who is also an introvert, I’m totally exhausted from the weekend. I had a great time and it was nice to have adult interaction, but I feel completely depleted.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Jun 14, 2021 8:11:48 GMT -5
Friday DS had a sleep over with a friend who is moving in a few weeks. Saturday DD had a class swim party. Sunday we had a playdate with a friend of mine and got to go swimming in her pool, then met a friend of DS and went swimming in her neighborhood pool. Lots of swimming which was perfect for the blistering heat.
But last night I discovered DD was suddenly congested and now she's coughing. I'm taking her for a covid test just to be sure because DS is supposed to do several playdates this weekend before he goes to camp.
JFC if he gets sick with a cold, he better get better before he has to leave for sleep away camp sunday. If it's covid...I get to find out what the camp can do for us I guess. It's probably not covid. I'm just nervous because camp was so much $$$ and DS is so looking forward to it.
Post by supertrooper1 on Jun 14, 2021 10:14:52 GMT -5
We bought a trailer! Friday after work, Beau and I drove to a dealership an hour away to look at a trailer that checked out boxes online. A quick walk through to make sure there were no major issues or structural issues (Beau's department) and we decided it was the one. The salesman wasn't pushy and they worked with us on a price. We were already pre-approved for a loan, so we go to pick it up on Tuesday after the paperwork at the bank is completed. Saturday, we bought some things for the trailer like bedding and kitchen stuff. Sunday we did a spontaneous 6 hour road trip across the mountain pass for dinner and ice cream. The views on this drive are incredible.
Now I'm waiting for a response from my attorney on how I'm supposed to respond to a new parenting plan proposed by ex-H that would require DS to be watched by ex-H during my weeks when I'm working during the summer. I do not want this to happen, as my weeks should be my weeks. He included some ridiculous claims in the proposal on how he was more attentive as a parent than I was/am.
Monday after vacation. My internet sucks more than usual. I have had to be on the phone with ATT most the morning. Service call Wednesday. I can't believe I pay for such sucky service.
Wild week. Dd leaves for camp Wednesday. I have to work late for a board meeting tomorrow. Prayers for my internet service. I have a data plan for my Surfpro, so that will probably have to do for now.
Staff have asked me 10 questions already. I don't know, I just want to go back to the beach.
It's raining. The dog we've been dog sitting is going home this afternoon once I get home from work! 10 days is a long time to dog sit. My house needs a giant deep clean. I also know that I don't want a two dog household full time so no getting a puppy before my old lady has moved on.
Last week of zoom school. DD has been reading a 1951 printed dictionary during class today as they aren't really doing anything. The one kid is wanting to show everyone his head lice, eww just eww.
I need some new summer clothes badly but everything I'm finding just looks blah. I don't care to wear flowers and everything seems to have flowers on it. DD got some gift cards for her b-day so we are going to go shopping next weekend so maybe I will find something for myself too.
Friday was last day of school for DD and DS1, so godspeed to DH who will have to keep them out of my hair since I'll be WFH permanently. On Saturday, DS1 had his last soccer game. Then we took the kids to get pizza and ice cream to celebrate the end of this crazy school year. On Sunday, DS1 had a friend over. That kept all of the kids busy while I purged the kitchen and DH made a strawberry rhubarb pie. Then we met my parents for dinner on our way to an outdoor concert. Unfortunately, a big storm rolled through the area while we were in the restaurant and knocked down a lot of power lines. So we finished our dinner in the dark and decided to head home instead. It was a little tricky getting home with the debris, flooding, and powerless traffic lights. I think we were all glad to come home since the rain kept pouring for most of the evening.
This weekend was crazy as usual since DD made the all-star softball team, but it was a lot of fun. I think we've finally gotten used to our new normal just as softball is ending in the next couple of weeks.
Both Saturday and Sunday, DH and DD left at 5:45 am to drive to a tournament an hour away, where it was a gazillion degrees. Saturday DD's team tied their first game and lost their second game badly. I took the 3 little boys to the tidepools, since DS1 had been studying them in school and apparently promised his teacher he would go over the weekend (thanks teacher . Saturday afternoon was his end of season baseball party at a pool down the street, so I took DS1 and DS2 while my dad worked out in my garage so someone was with the napping baby.
DD's team is not very good, so I assumed they'd be done Sunday after their 8 am game. But of course they won (by 27-4, no less), so DD missed DS2's 4th birthday party, which we had at a local park 11 am - 1 pm. DH got there in the middle of the party and another softball family gave DD a ride home (they very narrowly lost the second game to the 1-seed). We had a facepainter, a pinata, and a lot of food, and I think everyone had fun. Besides sending the evite a few weeks in advance, I planned the whole party in like the 12 hours before it, and set it up on my own with the 3 little boys, and surprisingly it went fine. We had like 40 people, and DS2 thought it was amazing to play with some of his preschool friends outside of school. Maybe I don't need to think about party planning as much as I used to.
Today is DS2's real birthday. We brought goodie bags to school and my parents will come over later for more cake
I took yesterday off, so today is my Monday. And MAN it is feeling like it!
My internet has already crashed 4 times today and I got a message about an outage in my area so I'm crossing my fingers it stays on all day so I can work. I could drive into the office to work from there if it crashes, but I'm not bothering if it crashes again. I have a ton of chores to do around the house in between outages.
On top of that, we found out that the theater camp the girls usually do has low enrollment, so they're cancelling. That's 2 weeks of no camp for them and Boys and Girls Club is full. So they'll be just sitting around at home for two weeks while exH and I WFH. Not ideal, but it is what it is.
Well, it’s in the low to mid-90s and now Texas’ power grid might fail again. So that’s awesome. What are we going to do when it gets into triple digits in August?
supertrooper1, a couple I know that's divorcing right now has the dad trying to say the same thing. He gets out of work at like 3 PM and the mom works til 5 or 6. He is claiming that he should have full custody because they would have to go to after care on her days. I told her he's full of shit and there's no way a judge would grant that for that reason. I also talked to him about it separately and told him that he has to just get used to the idea that on his days, she might have to do things differently than he would on his days and that's ok.
supertrooper1, Right of First Refusal is a big thing where I am, but if you are WFH then that goes out the window. Hopefully your lawyer gets back to you with some good advice. Also your kid is at the age now where there are lots of fun camps he could go to that he would probably enjoy more than sitting at home.
supertrooper1, a couple I know that's divorcing right now has the dad trying to say the same thing. He gets out of work at like 3 PM and the mom works til 5 or 6. He is claiming that he should have full custody because they would have to go to after care on her days. I told her he's full of shit and there's no way a judge would grant that for that reason. I also talked to him about it separately and told him that he has to just get used to the idea that on his days, she might have to do things differently than he would on his days and that's ok.
So does he work less than full time or does he go in early? If he starts work early, how is he getting the kids up and ready for school? That’s such a crock of an argument. I’m glad you told her that.
Post by supertrooper1 on Jun 15, 2021 10:31:42 GMT -5
twinmomma, that's exactly it. He's always right and doesn't want me to be able to do my own thing. Plus he thinks he can get more DS time this way.
xctsclrx, at our first mediation, he tried to get first right of refusal and my attorney advised against it and I see why. The problem with camps in our area is we live 30 minutes from where the camps are, and most of them are 8-noon or 9-1, which makes it impossible for me to drop him off and pick him up while I'm working. In ex-H's argument, because I WFH, I let DS have too much screen time to entertain himself. DS can always find ways to entertain himself without a screen and he probably gets more screen time at his dad's house.
mommyatty, He goes in earlier, so exactly, how does it change anything? It's the dumbest argument ever. He's just trying to make it out to be him as the "better parent" and stress her out.
twinmomma- I would shoot back with “no one has to possibly see my kids undressed at aftercare, and my kids’ sleep schedule isn’t affected by my work schedule, unlike with STBX’s situation.” I have zero patience for parents who use kids as pawns in their fights with each other.
supertrooper1 not sure how responsive you need to be for work or how flexible, but if I talked to boss about having to take off for an hour around lunch time for a week to do pick up he wouldn't bat an eye as long as I was getting my hours in. I also set up a hotspot on my phone to allow me to work on the road when needed. I have pulled over to answer emails before. Just food for thought not directly related to your issue at hand.
I would be tempted to tell your ex to f off. He doesn't get to dictate how you spend your time with your kid. Probably not the appropriate response. Best to let the lawyer draft a response for you 😉
twinmomma he sounds like a jerk. People think after school care is this horrible thing, but it is basically homework help and then recess. My kid loves it. Much better than having to wake up extremely early for before school care where there are less kids and he is tired.
ITA on aftercare. People have this notion that it’s somehow institutionalizing kids when otherwise they’d be roaming the neighborhood having unstructured outdoor fun. The reality is that my kids get more of the idealized 1950s after school experience of unstructured play with other kids at aftercare than the vast majority of kids get at home after school playing video games. We let our kids come home after school since we were WFH this year and they decided they’d rather go to aftercare.
I’m on “vacation” this week to take DS to his special needs bike camp. Day 1 went really well. We did mini golf this morning. Bike camp is 3:30-5. I kind of messed up in the timing because I thought work would be busy and I would leave early but instead I decided it was too much and to just take the week off. And work isn’t that busy like I thought it might.
Aftercare is kind of annoying because of discipline issues. But at home yes they did their homework but the rest of time was video games. They did play with neighbor friend but not until 4:30 when the parents were close to done WFH. I think next year we are planning 2 aftercare days and 3 days of extra curriculars at school or ride the bus home.
DD didn't care for aftercare because she did the 1 hour program which was just snack and homework help. All the fun stuff started after the 1 hour kids left. Now DD loved the ladies who did before care which was the same staff as aftercare. DD will be home by herself in the fall and I can guarantee she won't be running around with the neighborhood kids as she doesn't do that now even on the weekends. When I was a kid my dad was a SAHD and we didn't play with anyone until after 5 when parents got home.
My younger sister is extremely self-centered. She always has been. She lives across the country and rarely tells us when she’s planning a visit, but expects us to drop everything to fit around her schedule.
We’ve had DD1’s drop off date for camp in our calendar for literally a year. I lined up my parents to watch DD2 for the day since we can’t get out of the car - 7 hours of sitting is too much. My sister decided to come for a visit that weekend. Fine - I offered for them to all come to our pool for the day - it’s supposed to be warm and the pool is already in the 80’s - nice for her 9 month old to splash in - I bought her some baby floats.
I literally got a text 5 mins ago that she’s having my niece baptized on the day of camp drop off, and that I’m to be one of the godparents. Um. I mean. I told you I would be spending the day in the car. She acknowledged that she didn’t know when I’d be back… um… yeah… so I’m to spend 7 hours in the car, rush home to get ready for a baptism, drive another 40 mins to the church?
No. Sorry.
I don’t know why I’m surprised. It’s seriously par for the course.
mae0111- how do you plan a baptism that quickly? Either she’s known about it for a while and forgot to tell you or this is going to be a very low key baptism. You can’t even get into a church to do a baptism on that little notice here.
mae0111, maybe suggest that they baptize her in your pool so you don't have to drive to the church. That seems equally as thoughtful as her plans so far.
mommyatty - I spoke to her 2 week ago - no mention of it. I’m also noting that my poor niece will fly across the country, land at midnight, sleep in a strange place, and have this baptism about 36 hours after landing. Seems fun.
My parents, who believe everything she does is awesome no matter how inconvenient for everyone, are terribly annoyed. But they are staying out of it. Which is fine. My other sister (the other godparent), also doesn’t think she can make it. So… no godparents? Seems fine.