fourstonesoup.com

Obviously, I must be a wee bit hormonal as I can tell from the rancor in my post yesterday.  And also the fact that I could not cram enough food in my piehole all day yesterday.

Those things still frustrate me, but not in a HUGE, OVERWHELMING way.

And just so kharma doesn’t zap me in the ass for being such a melodramatic bitty (Malyn gets it honestly), I MUST mention a few good things.

**I participate in a consignment sale every Spring and Fall.  I used to help organize and run one but now I just watch, half-heartedly hang clothing and eat free food while my Mom struggles with organizing and running one.  Today, I picked up a nice, fat check for $126.  Not bad for clothing my kids are NOT going to wear any more.

**I get it.  Do you know when you don’t have kids and you do not understand why parents do the things they do?  And then you have kids and you realize why every parent before you did that same thing?  Well, I totally understand why parents put their kids in sports and enthusiastically cheer from the sideline.  Drew has been asking to be a part of a soccer team for a while now.  I swear we haven’t intentionally steered him toward this sport.  I mean, sure, both Bryan and I played in high school and I dinked around on my college team but we have always said that Drew would choose his own path and if that involved RiverDancing, then so be it.  But he has been adamant that he wanted to play soccer so we finally coordinated with a group for him to play.  Oh My God.  The amount of adorable hilarity on the field the morning of their first game was palpable.  It was like there were tiny light blue sparklies around every grinning, cheering parent.  Actually, the morning of his first game he was very nervous.  Around the table during breakfast with the in-laws, he mentioned that he was “really scared about going to soccer.  Because I don’t want the kids to laugh at me and I don’t know if I can do a good job.” {Insert sound of four adult hearts melting simultaneously all over our scrambled eggs and biscuits}.  But once he got there, it was all grins all the time.  Even as he was literally taking out most of the other team and half of his own team in an effort to get to the ball.

*sigh*.  That’s good stuff right there.

**My nephew, Braxton does not really like me.  I know, that sounds like a bad thing, right?  Well, it isn’t.  It’s really too cute.  I saw him today and as soon as he saw me walk in the room, he started crying…hard.  He was in his walker and walked over to my Dad (my parents watch him during the day) and reached up for him, crying and occasionally peering over his shoulder at the scary aunt in the room.  It was so cute!  As soon as my Dad picked him up and he was safe from the crazy lady, he was all grins, giggles and happiness.  He is fascinated with me as long as he is in the safety of my parents’ arms.  It is the most hilarious thing ever.  And I LOVE that he harbors this love/hate thing with me.  He doesn’t trust me and I don’t blame him one little bit.  Because I would totally and happily kidnap him.

**Along with the arrival of Dreaded Sunscreen Season, Spring brings the arrival of MORE pretty flowers.  Of which I will take a bazillion pictures.  And do nothing with!  YEAH!

I am completely frustrated right now.

Frustrated that my daughter is crying (dramatically) in her bed for some water.  But we both know this isn’t about the water.  It’s about not wanting to go to sleep and using any excuse she can thinkof to stave off getting quiet.  She could have just as randomly chosen having to go the bathroom fifty-leventy billion times.  Or her finger hurting with some non-existent malady.  You would think after three-and-a-half-years she would have gotten it into her head that we ARE NOT budging on this.  And if not, the wicked teeth-whistly hissing I did earlier should have clued her in.

I am frustrated that I have only have one more piece of information to obtain before finishing up our taxes but I am waiting on SOMEONE ELSE to give it to me.  And the person I am waiting for has made this process immensely more difficult by doing financial mumbo-jumbo on our behalf which has ultimately done us NO GOOD but, in fact, has increased the amount of taxes we have to pay.  GEE THANKS!  AND!  As if that’s not enough!  This person did not give us a choice in these matters but sprung it on us after the deed was done.  Not in a “SURPRISE!  Look what I’ve DONE FOR YOU!” way but in a “Oh, by the way…” way.

I am frustrated because there are ISSUES that I could DISCUSS and WANT to write about but I CAN’T because of my whole ‘not wanting to piss off anyone I know who may or may not read this blog’ and permanently destroy relationships.  SERIOUS ISSUES!  That warrant BLOGS!

I am frustrated because 6 years ago I gave up my job to stay at home with my then nearly-born child.  And my boss asked me to stay on part-time because I was good at my job and we got along well.  And I declined because I felt like I needed to commit to being with my kids when they were little.  And because I never envisioned a day when my particular field (teaching) would not be hiring.  Well, of course, the year that I want to come back to teaching, there are NO JOBS in my county.  NONE!  In fact, they are laying off people left and right.  And I want to stay in my county because Drew is going to a fancy-shmancy charter school next year (already got accepted) and I don’t want to lose that opportunity for him.  AND even if I just kept him at the fancy-shmancy charter school and I just worked in a different county, it would NOT work out because of transportation issues, differing school calendars, etc.  NOT TO MENTION the whole conundrum that is what the heck I am doing with Malyn next year (in terms of preschool).  We are SO TIRED of barely scraping by and we were looking forward to having disposable income.  I know!  Extra money at the end of the month?  What’s that?  And now, it AIN’T happening.

I am frustrated that my car needs a brake job.  I know–I am definitely well into whining territory.  I’ve had my car for roughly 5 years with basically ONE minor repair job needed.   We haven’t had to do any upkeep (besides tires and oil changes) and I totally realize it is NORMAL to have to replace such things as brake pads, etc.  BUT I DON’T WANT TO (See the ‘no extra money’ rant above.)  And this comes on top of some rather large bills we have had to pay in the last few weeks (think: broken hand, etc) (goodbye meager savings) which just seem to pile on and create the perfect storm of Budget Shot To Hell.

I am frustrated that it is sunscreen season again.  I HATE SUNSCREEN SEASON.  HATEIT!HATEIT!HATEIT! Bryan and I are fanatics about sunscreen around here.  (Bryan even more so than me–which could possibly add to my frustration level.)  I hate avoiding the sun during peak hours.  I hate the lingering grease and smell on the kids.  I hate having to spend ten minutes rubbing the kids down with sticky, white, gooey plastick-y stuff before they play.  I hate the sunscreen smears that cover the couch.  I HATE IT.  I KNOW that it’s necessary for the kids AND ME but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I am frustrated…

Oh wait.  I think that’s it.  And I *KNOW* that relatively speaking, these things are minor and for many of them, there are benefits that even I am not too stupid to see.  But for right now, I am just feeling malcontent and pissy so I am refusing to acknowledge them.

(Oh, and by the way, Malyn is totally asleep.)

PS: I am truly sorry if sentences starting with ‘And’ and run-on sentences frustrate you.