"What's wrong baby?"

 

"I had the worst dream ever".

 

"Oh, I'm sorry.  What was your dream?"

 

"I had this dream I was kissing one of the Jonas brothers."

 

"That doesn't seem like a bad dream."

 

Wailing: "But when I woke up I was kissing my bed! 

 

"Hon, you're 9.  Your bed is all you should be kissing."

 

"I'm never going to kiss a Jonas brother!"

 

"Probably not, but someday you will meet the right boy and kiss him."

 

 

 

Apparently everyone is very worried that I will be at loose ends without my kids around, which is really nice.  But I’m kind of tired!

 

First, my friend Jill calls on Friday, asking me if I would like to join her and her brother, mother and father for dinner (as well as two of her kids).  I had just gone to the store and purchased a nice steak to grill on my new grill (that I assembled all by myself, in case I haven’t mentioned that lately), but it did sound like more fun than sitting around the house cleaning and watching Torchwood.  So, I went.  It was the fastest dinner on record.  I got there about 5 minutes later than them, actually ordered before I even sat down, and a hour later was back in my car headed home.  So I still watched a couple episodes of Torchwood.

 

Then Saturday, I had planned out my whole day, I was going to clean and sort through stuff, but then my brother invited me to go with them to Costco (I had never been) and then out to dinner. Since he very rarely invites me to go anywhere with him and his girlfriend, I figured I should go.  But just prior to leaving, I hurt my back (I had a pretty bad back injury about 10 years and go and it has never really healed correctly).  So I take a whole lot of Ibuprofen and go anyway. 

 

Costco is huge.  HUGE.  We were there for about 2 hours.  Walking and standing.  I thought I was going to die it hurt so bad.  But really, walking is good, it just doesn’t feel that way.  Anyway, we left there and my brother said he was going to buy me dinner.  At a Korean Restaurant, which I have never had.  I agreed to if he promised not to make me eat anything weird.  Remember, he eats things like candied fish.  But then we can’t find the restaurant and he decides to go for Vietnamese.  Haven’t tried that before either.  And it wasn’t half bad.

 

Then yesterday, my friend Kelly calls sounding really depressed, so we go out to the local festival and wander around, then to a mall to look for shoes for her.  I love to window shop, especially for things that I have absolutely no use for, like Waterford Crystal and Wedgewood.  So I of course am drawn to that store like a moth to a flame.  She follows me, saying, “Don’t break anything!”  Well, duh.

 

But her tolerance for shopping is somewhat short, and my back was starting to really hurt, so we ended up leaving after about an hour.  And went back and played with her dog and the neighbors dogs for awhile.  Then she helped me move some furniture around in my house.  By the time everything was done, it was nearly 7:00.  I did some sorting, finally grilled my steak, which I set on fire, oops, guess I need some practice with that, watched some more Torchwood (only three more episodes and I will have watched the whole first season!), then suddenly it was 10:30.  And I went and collapsed in bed.

 

Whew!

 

 

So, my kids are spending a week with their dad and Stepford wife.  They picked them up before I went to work yesterday.  Fortunately they were late, so I had to rush off right away without having time to think, so I didn’t cry.  And it was hard, since the girls were holding on to me begging to not go.  Right in front of their Dad.  I just kept talking about how much fun they were going to have and all the new family members they will meet (it’s the Stepford wife’s family reunion.  So hard for me to adjust to the fact that my children have a large family that I’m not a part of.  But that’s a whole different story.)  Finally I got them into the car and waved goodbye.

 

So, you want to know how I spent my first night of freedom?  Do you?  Oh, that’s right, I can’t hear you.  Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.

 

In the ER at a hospital an hour away.  With my ex, the Stepford Wife and my kids.  She’s OK, but Emma collapsed into a ball crying in the middle of the restaurant they were at, crying that her stomach and sides hurt.  Now, she is quite the drama queen, so they called me.  After some discussion, we decided better to be safe than sorry, especially since they were heading off to farmland today.  They were about 1 ½ hours away from me, so they told me what hospital they were going to (which I had no idea how to get to, but easily 2 hours for me) and I hopped into the car and started driving in the general direction.  I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to find.  Then they call me in the car, saying they have to go to a different hospital, because that one doesn’t take my insurance.  I was floored.  But the hospital they were going to was quite a bit closer to me (only about an hour) and I actually knew where it was.

 

I get there and everyone is already in the room.  So I had the joy of sitting in a small ER room with them for more than 2 hours.  And what was funny is that whenever anyone came into the room, they only addressed me.  And they’re asking me if she has any allergies, etc.  And my ex says, “I didn’t know.  I told them to talk to you”.  You know, we haven’t been divorced THAT long.  He ought to have at least a clue about her health history.

 

So we’re talking to this doctor who says he doesn’t think she has appendicitis because she’s not sick enough (duh) and so he doesn’t want to xray her and that she probably just has gas.  I told him I thought she might have a urinary tract infection because she was complaining of flank pain.  They had already taken a sample, so he goes out to check and he comes back in and says that there are signs of infection so they sent it to the lab for more complete testing.

 

So we sit around making polite chit chat (so much fun I can’t even describe it!), it’s getting later and later and the girls are getting more unruly by the moment.  I ask my ex what Emma has had to drink all day, and he says, some lemonade, a little water, a couple of cokes…at which point I stop him and say, “You mean more than one?”, “yes, she had two”  and I shake my head and say, “and you wonder why she doesn’t sleep at your house.”  He says something about never giving her any after 6:00 pm and I say, “Really, cause caffeine can stay in your system for a long time.  I never let her have any after 2:00, not to mention I rarely let her have soda in the first place.

 

Eventually the doc comes back in, says she has an infection, writes a prescription and we leave.  And the drama starts up all over again in the parking lot, with them hanging on me, wanting to come home.  I reassure them they can call me whenever they want, and put them into the car.  I then go to my car and start the long drive back home.  Alone.

 

I’m telling you.  BIG FUN!

 

Wonder what I can do tonight…….

Princess Emma had a Tai Kwan Do class yesterday.  More of a self defense class, I think.  Shannon had a playdate so she missed out.  Emma, being her generous self, decided it would be nice to teach her.  Whether Shannon wanted to learn or not.  Which of course really should have been titled, “How to beat up your sister without getting in trouble”.  I stopped that one right away, and suggested maybe it would be better if she showed Shannon by demonstrating with me.  And she actually did have a good move for getting away from someone trying to grab her.  But every time she did it, she would yell "Kung Fu Panda!", twist and run away across the yard, yelling “AHHHHHHH!”  at the top of her lungs. 

 

Can’t imagine what the neighbors must think.  Probably something along the lines of, “What is wrong with that family?”

But words can be absolutely devestating.

 

Shannon and Emma were wearing the same outfit yesterday.  Emm's was pink and white, Shannon's was pink and teal.  As I'm signing them in for summer day camp, the head of the program looks at Emma and says, "You look really cute today Miss Emma".  Then she turns towards me and softly says, "she's so tiny" and holds her hands a few inches apart.  And I look past to Shannon, who has the saddest look on her face.  She hadn't been noticed.  Again.  She is beautiful in her own right, but Emma is this force of nature.  And this is Shannon's cross to bear.  And it breaks my heart.  She comes home and cries and cries because people always compliment Emma, but rarely Shannon.  I have gone so far as to specifically ask people to compliment her when they see her.

 

Add to this that one of her supposed friends got mad at her and called her fat, and the damage was done.  I don't know what to do.

 

That morning, I did the only thing I could.  I walked over, gave her a big hug and kiss and said, "I love you my beautiful girl." 

 

Then I walked outside and cried.

 

 

We've been having bad storms lately.  No surprise, we've actually had it easy compared to alot of the midwest.  But imagine our surprise at work today when, after the storm had passed, the power went out.  And apparently it went out for a good portion of the town.  But while it was overcast, there was no rain or even wind.  So we sat and talked for about an hour by the light of the emergency lights before it occurred to us that duh, we could go sit out on the dock where it was light because it wasn't like the phones were going to ring with no power.  So we go outside, get settled, and then our boss comes out and asks us why we're still there. 

 

We were in our cars in less than 3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope ya'll will join me in welcoming another one of my "real life" friends - http://juleekay.spaces.live.com .  My fondest memory of her was in high school, we went to see Rick Springfield together, I left my keys in my car (thankfully I hadn't locked it - having someone steal it would have been welcome, you'd understand if you'd seen it) and we had to go back out, it was very embarrassing.  Then there was the summer we were in grade school and started a theater in her back yard.  I don't think we ever actually performed anything.  She is a born teacher and has been a wonderful friend for a longgggg time.  She also can drink me under a table (which isn't saying much anymore.  Most importantly, she saved my life once.  Not figuratively.  Literally.  Without her, there would be no me anymore.  And, you know, I'm not even sure I ever thanked her.  If I haven't Jules, I'm sorry.  And Thank You.

 

But check her out when you get a chance!

 

On another note: proof summer really is here - the first sunburn of the season! OW!

Shannon had a playdate today with her friend F.  F's mom and dad met us at the pool.  When they walked into the pool area, I of course went over to say hi.  As  Igot closer, I was floored by the mom's (L) appearance.  She had a swollen black eye, a cut under the other eye, her lip was split and her arms were cut and bruised.  I looked at her husband, and he had a huge cut under his eye. I looked at them and asked "what the He** happened?"  And L rolls her eyes and says, "My sister and I got into a fight".

 

Are you kidding me?

 

Apparently her sister is getting married in a couple of weeks and L is the maid of honor.  But the two of them don't get along.  So, they all went out drinking in the City.  And wisely rented a limo.  But they got so drunk they really don't remember how it started, but somehow, L got kicked in the face, her husband, trying to break up the fight, got a stilletto in the face (which I pointed out was the way Steven Weber was killed in Single White Female) and the bride got a huge chunk of hair pulled out.  L's husband stumbled out of the limo, the limo driver pulled L out of the back, threw her in the front and drove off, leaving her husband wandering the street of Chicago bleeding and drunk.  L's sister kept taunting her so L went through the privacy window after her.

 

L's husband met and befriended a homeless man, then fell face first into a puddle, and shredded his hands.

 

Who does this?  These are people in their late 20's-early 30's not 5 or 6.  She's telling me this story and even says, "I know, who acts like this?  My sister and I don't get along (well, duh).

 

Sometimes I really wonder about people.  But I do really want to see the wedding pictures.  Those should be something to be proud of.