Ridiculousness

 Two days ago I was preparing the oven for frozen fish fillets and garlic breadsticks. (Don’t get terribly excited- they’re fortunately found at Aldi!)

Thing Two observed and slyly asked, “Are we using the fish stick plates?”

I said, “you are going to be TWENTY in TWO DAYS and you still require fish stick plates?!”

He replied with a bit of exasperation, “it’s tradition!”

So, yes, the boys, 19 and 363/365ths and 15,  used their fish stick plates, to their incredible delight.

It’s the little things, my friends.

Happy Halloween to all, and happy 20th to our Tall Bean, Thing Two!

Who knew?

 When you buy a package of nylons or tights and they read  "One size fits most", buyer beware. That means they will fit most of your lower body, not that they fit most of everyone's bodies. I spent the morning tugging my purple and black striped tights back up where they belong. Does anybody make clothes that actually fit anymore? 

Heavy

 

Another side of randomness

 Last week was just nuts. In addition to the gas line at the high school being struck which caused school to be cancelled for Thing Three, I also had a two hour fog delay. We repeated the process on Tuesday, and though the gas line had been repaired, school was still cancelled for him as well as for me this time because the fog was still hanging around come bus time after the two hour delay. I think Wednesday everyone was on time, but I was subbing in first grade instead of hanging with my preK friends. Thursday I was back with my 3 year olds and then Friday was a work day and aides weren't required to report, and Thing Three also didn't have school because his teachers had a work day as well. 

My Mommeee arrived Monday afternoon and left Saturday morning, so we had a great, long visit this time. Thanks for making the trip! I miss you! Dada had been in Mexico for work since Sunday, and he made it back safely to us on Saturday after my Mom arrived home.  

This week will hopefully be a little less bananas, though I'm back in first grade on Wednesday again, and Thing Three has no school for conferences on Friday. Our school has them next week. I can't believe it's the end of the first quarter already...

My hindsight-is-always-20/20 observation is to not schedule surgery wherein your recovery requires no lifting within the same year as having lymph nodes removed in your arm. Hopefully none of you will ever go through the experience, but if you do, be forewarned that the second surgery and no lifting will set back your PT and stretching exercises rather alarmingly. I've been experiencing a ton of tightness throughout the right side of my chest, right armpit, shoulder, and neck. Over two weeks ago it was so bad that I whimpered when bending over to tie my shoes; the combination of extending my arm while having it tightly in front of me pulled all kinds of muscles in what felt like all the wrong places. At times, while stretching, I sounded snappy like a KitKat bar. As anyone with cording can tell you, the snap kind of takes your breath away a second and you're wincing the whole time you're working, either because it actually does hurt sometimes but also in anticipation of it zinging another stab of pain. For instance, I do 10 reps of various exercises, and sometimes the snap won't come until the 9th rep! Then you hesitate in dread a moment before starting the 10th, and breathe deeply when that set is done. I'm not particularly a fan of sounding crispy. Dada, however, is enjoying working on me with the massage gun we got; meanwhile, my vision when he's doing it makes me feel like the Blair Witch Project choppiness and it reminds me of how we'd vocalize as kids riding our bikes on our brick street, "heeeeyyyaaaaheeeeeyaheeeeya"... oh well. This, too, shall pass. I certainly won't win any Heisman trophies anytime soon!

School has been entertaining. For the most part, the kids are a hoot and I love the staff. I am tired of the squabbling over who is the line leader, but generally I am having a ball. I'm thrilled to be able to help. I missed so much time last year. 

Our weather has finally cooled off, I'm super behind on #Inktober, I have plenty of small projects to keep me busy when I'm home, and I'm glad for the time we had with my Mommeeeee. Too bad she didn't take Bos with her when she left. (I can hear you laughing, Mom. Pipe down.)

Did I blog that we had to put Honey down? I don't think I did. Our Honey girl was elderly and way past decrepit, so we made that worst best decision and our wonderful vet helped us send her off pain-free. Bos never even noticed. He still scurried to her dish for days afterwards to see if she'd left him any morsels and then he'd look at us like, "how rude." I think the only reason he'd miss any of us is because he doesn't have opposable thumbs.

One more football game and then the marching band season winds down. They've already had their concert and we learned the hard way to sit in the center of the auditorium versus towards the back. Having a line of trumpets three rows behind you is not recommended. Had it been drums, I'd have been great! I love to feel the beat in my sternum!

Have a wonderful week, everybody, and stay healthy!

Tell me it’s Monday without telling me it’s Monday

Today has been the Monday-est Monday that I’ve had in a long time. It started off with a very late in the game fog delay notification for Thing Three. We were both already up and around, and mostly ready for our day.

Then I got my notification that my school also had a two hour fog delay.

So Thing Three napped while I tidied things up, got boxes ready to ship from the post office before I went to school, and so forth.

He wakes up, puts on finishing touches, makes himself to not get on the bus this anfternoon because I need to take him to his orthodontist anppointment, and heads out. He catches the bus, I wave to the bus driver and heads back in to feed Bos and then head out, reminding myself.to pick him up at school later.

I’m almost out the door when the phone rings. It’s his school, again, this time saying a gas line has been hit at the school and the buses will be returning all secondary students to their homes because nobody can be near the gas leak. ALSO, because the buses have to return everyone, they can’t pick up any elementary school students. School is cancelled for everybody. 

Happy Columbus Day.

Laughing to myself, scribbling Thing Three a note about welcome home, see you later, I head to the post office, get my boxes all stamped with the self-service kiosk and try to yeet them into the drop box. 

It’s jammed.

The main section is closed. It’s Columbus Day. 

I head down the street to a toy store, asking if they also ship USPS, just in case, and the answer is, sadly, no.

I’m now at school, getting ready for a half day of 4 year olds while my boxes sit in the car.

Have a great day, and may yours go smoother than mine!

Starfish

 

Deer

 

Murky

 

Crown

 

Weave

 

Mustache

 First #Inktober2025 prompt is mustache and I’ve been informed by Thing One that I gotta do pirates as a theme this year, so here goes!