Category: family

I just realized that I have been getting my period for over twenty years. Which, yea, makes sense given my age, but when put that way makes me feel very, very old.

How funny is it that after reading Rolling Stone’s list of most annoying songs I had to go to iTunes to make sure I wasn’t missing any of my faves?

Bush Commutes Libby’s Sentence.\
My reaction: OMG! OMG!!! Why are people just letting Bush completely F*CK over this country? Why am I? Ahhhhhh.

To the left, you can read Kevin’s recap of the roller derby. Here is mine:\
I went to my first Roller Derby bout last night! It was fun! The first half an hour I was too amazed with all of the hot chicks there to really pay attention. (I kept making Kevin email a friend to tell him what he was missing.) They were in little gaggles and dressed to the 7’s, like they had gotten lost on the way to some club. I never did figure them out. There was also a huge contingent of computer nerds, goths, bikers, and families. It was surreal.\
The derby itself was kind of insane. It was a flat-track derby, with no rail between the participants and the fans. The first row was called the “suicide seats.” Yeah, we didn’t sit there. I had no idea what the rules or objective of roller derby was but after awhile, I figured out some things and could appreciate when someone made a good maneuver. It’s a rough sport, with lots of falling and elbows. Four girls from the roughly 45 players were recovering from serious broken bones. Youch! The basics are: This is a sport played on roller skates, which leads to all kind of craziness. Each period is 20 minutes (I am not sure if there are two or three periods per bout.) Within each period are several “jams,” where four girls from each team skate in a “pack” and one girl from each team initially skates behind them. These lagging skaters try to maneuver through the pack to be in front and then skate around the track to try to get through the pack again and again. They get one point for every opposing player they pass. These jams are at most two minutes long, which makes for lots of quick action and restarts with fresh skaters. There was some trash talking, elbows flying, and penalties all over the place. One girl even lifted her skirt and patted her ass a few times, to mock the skaters behind her. The audience laughed, the opposing skaters didn’t.\
The players have awesome names. That was probably one of the most fun things about the night. They also have really fun uniforms, with the shortest skirts in the world, that they embellish when not competing. The referees even have fun too. There was a guy in a clown face named John Dewayne Gacey and Refsputin, who would send you to hell if you disagreed with him.\
By the end, I was really getting into it. I felt like if we suddenly moved to somewhere exotic, that in a few short months I would be cheering for their wacky sports too. Cuz watching sports isn’t really about the love of the game, IMO, it is about the appreciation of a tough skill, the opportunity to root for your favorite team, and to be with other people.\
Roller derby is weird! But I enjoyed it anyway! If you ever have the chance, check it out! There is a probably a league near you!

Max just finished his first week at Summer Camp for school-aged children at the AOL Daycare Center. He had a fun time and was glad to be back. This week’s theme was Deserts. They learned about people and animals who live in the deserts and got up close and personal with a variety of real live reptiles. The week was finished with a trip to the pool. YAY! And it was an indoor pool, which is even better in my opinion. (Cuz the sun is my enemy. It should fear me, yet it does not. Boooo.)\
I love the AOL Daycare Center. I’ve only experienced their Summer Camp, but the infant, toddler, and kindergarten programs sound fabulous too. I joked with Kevin that we should have 10 more babies, just so we can send them there. The full time care is a bit expensive, though, so poor Brian is hanging out with me and attending cheaper (but still nice) classes at the community center this summer.

Kevin took some fun pictures of the boys goofing off last night and my first thought upon seeing them was, “The house is so clean! My mom will be proud.” Heh. (You can see them by clicking the Photos link above.)\
In other photo news- Only a year and half late, I finally took my waterproof disposable camera from Hawaii to be developed. Can’t wait to see the pics, though I bet the little boys in the pictures will barely be recognizable!\
After the busiest two weeks ever, I am really hoping that I can just bum around the house today, doing laundry. Think that Brian is up to a quiet day at home? ??? Eh, I didn’t think so either.

Early Friday morning, I received a visit from an excited friend who wanted to show off her new van. It was pretty and shiny and we traded gushes about our vans. Later, Brian and I went to kiddie class while Kevin and Max went to Lowe’s and Wegman’s. Then we all met up for lunch at Logan’s (mmm, steak), where we brainstormed about Max’s blog, and then went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate the end of school. (Max is now a second grader and Brian is taking kiddie classes. Wheee.) \$10 and two hours later, Kevin and the boys headed to AOL to pick up a coding book for Max’s blog and I headed to Target. My objective was to return a broken watch and get Brian a toddler-sized backpack. Did either of these two things happen? Noooo. But I did buy a really cute pair of capris, some adult-sized earrings, awesome flip flops for \$2.99, and a pool toy for the boys. The flip flops were such a deal that I bought 3 different colors. (For my birthday, my mother-in-law bought me gold hoops in the tiny size I prefer. I haven’t been able to get them in though, that is how small they are. Since then, I have been trying to wear more adult-sized earrings. I guess it’s time.) Not to leave Kevin out from the Target haul, I bought him some deodorant and floss. Oh yea, he made out big time!\
Saturday morning was supposed to be spent on Max’s blog and weeding the backyard. That so didn’t happen either. Kevin took the boys to breakfast while I slept in. He then drove down to Centerville in search of his favorite used CD store but it is long gone. He went to Trader Joe’s and JoAnne’s (in search of a birthday present) instead. Hours later I was still sleeping. YAY for me! I was having the worst dreams ever though, so it wasn’t really restful. I felt like I was stuck in Deliverance. Not fun. When I finally dragged my cute-pajamed butt out of bed, Kevin put together our new weed whacker and showed me how to use it. By this time though, the backyard was too sunny for me to attempt any weeding. I decided to rehang the dining room curtains, using drywalls anchors so that they would be more secure and would stop cracking the drywall around the rod holders. Eight holes and a few tears later, Kevin stepped in to finish the last two holes. What should have taken 15 minutes and six holes took 45 minutes and ten holes. And I really mean holes. Like, a three inch by two inch hole in the drywall that is now another job on our handyman “to do” list. After this, I frantically cleaned the main floor, except the kitchen (but four out five rooms isn’t bad, eh?) in preparation for Babba’s visit later. I told Max that we clean before Babba comes as a sign of respect. I wasn’t trying to nag him into cleaning; I was just trying to explain why I was in cleaning frenzy now. When Brian balked at picking up his toys, Max said, “Do you like Babba? Then you need to clean up!” Ha, unintentional guilt. Kevin recently started getting US Weekly for free. After cleaning up the living room, I artfully arranged them on our Ikea coffee table, like the fancy-pants decorators do. Cuz yea, that is how classy we are. Kevin and I dropped off the kids at the in-laws house and then we went out for Mexican food (yummy), floor shopping (educational), another visit to JoAnne’s (unsuccessful), a trip to Target (to finally return the watch and buy Brian’s backpack) and a movie ( Knocked Up ). We went to some mom-n-pop flooring place (actually a brother-n-sister operation, but we don’t judge) and they were very helpful and informative. We’ve decided on oak, with a micro-bevel for all three floors, with carpet on the stairs. I think I am going to get the wide planks for the main floor and the regular skinny planks for the others. We then went to Abbey Carpet, in front of the Sterling Costco, just to check prices. They were extremely unhelpful! I know Kevin is happy to never set foot inside there again. And their prices weren’t that good! The backpack I found for Brian is awesome. It’s Diego, Dora’s cousin, with a bright yellow school bus on the front- two of Brian’s favorite things. I am sure he will love it. It even has wheels and an extendable handle like Max’s. Knocked Up was funny and thought-provoking. The review I read told of the scene where Paul Rudd’s character mentions how bat shit crazy the kids were for bubbles. He said, “I wish I were that crazy about anything.” So true. Being an adult sucks sometimes. I’ve noticed that Max, now almost 8, doesn’t giggle as carelessly and easily as he used to. I am not ready for this change. He is a happy child, but doesn’t have the toddler-glee anymore. Sob. We came home around 10:15 which is the latest we’ve stayed out this year, I think. Kind of pathetic. Poor Grandpa was in the basement watching some show he didn’t really want to be because he didn’t have the password to watch real tv (sorry, Larry). I found a cute gold metallic purse waiting for me at home (thanks, Anne). Long day. Bed was a welcoming thought. But instead of going to bed, I stayed up until 2 am looking on the internet for engagement rings with a friend. Internet shopping is a blast!\
Today is Sunday and I only got five hours sleep. Totally my fault and totally worth it. Kevin wants to hit the Farmers’ Market, if he wakes up in time, then tackle Max’s blog finally. I need to weed the backyard, but won’t be attempting that until late afternoon when the sun slips in front of the house. The kids probably want to go to the pool, but I am not sure that is on the agenda for today. Oh, there is also supposed to be some toilet-fixing going on too. Wish Kevin luck with that!\
What did you do this weekend?

The estimates on the various house projects are about the same. So, how do I pick someone? The people themselves all kind of seem the same too. They all speak English and work for local companies. They were all men, who wore pants and shoes and shirts and wrote with pens on pads of paper. One guy was an hour late (he called ahead of time to reschedule) and another guy postponed the meeting by a day. Those are the only negatives that I know of. Kevin met two of the guys. I kind of feel like going with one of those guys, just because Kevin seconded my opinion that they were ok. Shrugs.

I have the quirkiest husband ever. True story.