Lessons in Bad Parenting

So, yesterday was my last day with students. It was a bit of a bittersweet feeling, because even though I don’t see them in person, when I work with kids for a year, I build a certain bond with them.  I got some nice e-mails from my kiddos, thanking me for helping them this year, and even a couple letters from appreciative parents. That’s always a good feeling, because as my fellow teachers can tell you, teaching can be a thankless job at times. But I’ve been lucky to work with families, and teachers that are very supportive and appreciate collaborative efforts to help students improve. Anyway, that meant that today was primarily a paperwork day. Those are the hardest days for me, because my self-diagnosed ADD kicks in, and I jump from one task to another, without completing anything! Oh well, I have another week to get everything finished. Honestly, I’ve got about 2 days of work, and a full week to complete it. I’m determined not to procrastinate and do it at the very end of next week!

Okay, enough of the boring stuff. Today I got back to the gym, which I have unintentionally avoided for the last two weeks. It felt great to get my muscles moving again, although I’m sure I will be sore tomorrow! When I dropped Charley off at the daycare area, she started crying. This has been her pattern for the last two weeks or so. She’s gotten to be a little clingy with me, for one reason or another. Last week she cried through her entire gymnastics class, which is crazy, because it’s her favorite thing to do during the week! I know it’s just a stage, but I hope it passes soon.  I thought about Charley when I was in the locker room, too, as I overheard a conversation between a mom and her teenage daughter that literally made me cringe.

Mom: Well, you know, your dad gets to do all the fun stuff. He takes you kids on vacations, and to do all kinds of fun things, and has photos taken of you. I have to pay for everything. I don’t have any money to pay for fun stuff for you. Now I’m going to have to pay for this summer camp!

Daughter: Well, do you want me to ask Dad if he can pay for camp?

Mom: Well, I mean, if you wouldn’t mind. That would be great. He seems to have a lot of money, and I don’t have any money. And I’m the one working my butt off to pay for the everyday bills!

Daughter: Ok, Mom, I’ll ask him.

Okay, seriously? While I might have this internal dialogue all the time, and vocalize it to my friends, I would NEVER let Charley get involved in my finances or opinions about her father. This mother made me really upset, because as the child of divorced parents, I know that regardless of how hard parents try to keep kids out of their personal issues, there is still a sense of being caught in the middle. It just can’t be prevented. But parents CAN make it worse, and that’s exactly what this mother did. She put her child in the middle and asked her to take care of something she should have addressed herself. I was irritated. Even though things aren’t always rosy with Charley’s dad, and I might address certain issues with him from time to time, I would never ask my child to address those issues for me. Ugh. BAD parenting. But it showed me exactly what NOT to do with Charley!

Anyway, I think my annoyance from the conversation made me work out a little bit harder. And my mood improved greatly when Betty White’s Off Their Rockers came on the TV at the gym. I’ve only seen one episode of this show in my life, and I’d forgotten how amusing it is. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud and falling off the treadmill, when a “blind” man started throwing bird seed on a couple of twenty-something women. It was hilarious. Totally distracted me from the fact that my legs were burning because I’ve been a lazy bum who hasn’t worked out in weeks!

I haven’t talked about my dating life much lately, and honestly it’s because it’s been going well. I met a nice guy, and I don’t want to jinx it! So that’s all the information I’m going to provide… Ha!

Funny story for the day...I went to McDonald's to get a Diet Coke today. I try not to keep soda in the house, because if it's there, I drink it, which I don't like to do every day. Anyway, as I was pulling up to pick up my drink, I could see the drive-through guy bouncing his head up and down, probably showing off for some girl he was working with. It was amusing...especially when he wasn't paying attention and hit his head on the top of the drive-through window. He immediately grabbed his head and cringed. I laughed. I pulled up, and he asked, "Are you laughing at me?" I said, "A little bit." He replied," Yeah, I'd be laughing at me, too." It kind of made my day, even though I know it probably hurt. Ha!

Tonight, my girlfriends are out for pizza and drinks. My coaching friends are at the gym, for adult tumbling. And me? I’m sitting on the couch, blogging. Unfortunately, it’s just hard to get out at 8:00 on a Thursday night, because my family works, and it’s kind of late to get a sitter. Charley has gotten into a pretty good bed time routine, and I am trying to keep it consistent. I know it’s easy to get lax in the summer, but it’s important to me that she has some structure. So, I’ll take one for the team, and stay home with my munchkin. And seeing as she’s in bed, I’m pretending that I’m out with my girlfriends, and enjoying a glass of wine. Cheers!

A Weekend for the Books!

Wow, what a week! School is winding down, but of course I was just assigned two new students, even though there is about a week left of classes. That means my IEP writing is NOT done, the way I thought it was. Oh well, just one more week with students, then it's summer time! I'm looking forward to it. This year actually went by pretty quickly, and I think it's because I tried hard to keep myself busy. Well, I didn't have to TRY that hard. I mean, I have a toddler. She does a pretty good job of keeping me busy!

So last week, my friend Kim and I drove down to KS for Memorial Day weekend. It's about a 6.5 hour drive, which really isn't that bad. We managed to make it there with only one stop, and we were traveling with a toddler and a dog! Not too shabby! It was a great trip. Charley hadn't been feeling well the day we left, so I was worried she would be sick for the whole vacation, but she slept all the way to KS, and through the night, so she seemed to be much better by Friday afternoon. We stayed with my friend Kellie and her two boys, Jack and Luke. It was really like staying with family. I've said before that Kellie is like my sister, and that's true. Just like a sister would, she brought me along to her exercise classes. That meant I got to go to boot camp and pilates on the same day. Kellie is in incredible shape, so I knew I was in for it, but I was glad to join her. Boot camp was HARD. Mostly because I hate cardio, and it involved a lot of cardio. When we went outside to run about a block, I thought I was going to die. Sad, right? Part of my problem was that I totally wore the wrong shoes to the class, and after about a thousand burpies, my feet were killing me. Even though it kicked my butt, I did enjoy the class. I really enjoyed the pilates class. That's more my kind of workout. Strength, balance...those are the things gymnasts are good at. Running and endurance? Not so much!  Anyway, I totally got my butt kicked, but was pleasantly surprised when I was able to walk on Saturday, in spite of the tightness in my calf muscles!

Saturday was a fun day. We took it easy in the morning. Charley slept until 10:30, because she'd had night terrors throughout the night. Sorry, Kellie and family! It was miserable for everyone, I'm pretty sure. Fortunately, though, she was a in a much better mood when she finally got up. Luke and Charley played outside most of the morning. Kellie owns just about every outdoor toy a kid could want, including a swing set, a trampoline, and even a little John Deere tractor. It's like a kid's dream. Charley's been in a, "drive a car," stage for quite some time, so when she got on that tractor, she was in heaven. It was incredibly amusing, watching her slam on the gas pedal and fly along the grass until she ultimately ran into a bush (which she did, every time). We went to a birthday party for a friend's son that afternoon. It was really nice. I got to see some of my good friends, including my Ali who is pregnant and about to deliver any day. I was hoping she'd go ahead and have the baby while I was in town, but no such luck! For some reason she wasn't all into the idea of bouncing on the trampoline to get her water to break. Weird. Ha! Charley had a blast, belting Happy Birthday at the top of her lungs (3 times...everyone else only sang once), but when she realized the presents weren't for her to open, she was ready to go back to the house. She was in bed by 7:45 and I actually had time to relax. It was great!

When diapers fill with water... My girl's got some junk in the trunk!

Sunday was honestly the perfect day. Charley and I went to breakfast with Kim and her boyfriend, then came back and played outside for awhile while Kellie and the boys were at church. When they got home, we got ready to go to Kellie's mom's pool. Kellie hadn't said much about the house, so I didn't know what to expect. It was a BEAUTIFUL home and the pool was amazing. It had a large stoop that was about 4 inches deep, which was perfect for Charley to "swim" on. There were a million pool toys, and in spite of it being a little bit cloudy, the kids swam for hours.

My old roommate and good friend Spenser came by to say hi, and stayed for awhile. It was great to see him, and he provided an excellent source of entertainment for Charley and Luke, so that was fantastic. It sure made for an easy afternoon! At one point, he put on Charley's sunglasses to play football with Luke, and Charley is still talking about when Spenser wore her glasses. Anyway, the pool was relaxing, and I got a little bit of sun, thank goodness, because I was starting to look a little too white for my liking.

When we went back to Kellie's, my good friend Ann stopped by and chatted for awhile. I love catching up with old friends! Then Kellie fired up the grill, poured us some wine, and we settled in for the evening. We had some GREAT wine, and even better conversation. Lots of laughs, some at the expense of our friend Eric , who we both texted back and forth for awhile. He'd been doing tequila shots, and Kellie and I were having a little bit too much fun giving him a hard time for not inviting us over. Not that either of us could've driven there anyway, after 3 glasses of wine... Eric owns a gym, and has been trying to convince me to move back to KS to help him run it. As much as that is my dream job, I'm not in a place to leave MN right now. I love being back in my hometown! That's not to say it could never happen, but not right now.



Monday it poured down rain. Kellie went to pilates, and I stayed home with Luke and Charley. We built a fort, played hide and seek....perfect rainy day activities. When Kellie got back, we went to Eric's gym for open gym to let the kids play around for awhile. Luke is a talented little gymnast, so it was fun to see what he could do. Eric showed me around the gym, and we came across the playroom for the siblings of the kids who were in the classes. That was a mistake. There was a toy kitchen in there, and Charley is borderline obsessed with "cooking" in the kitchen. She played uninterrupted for a good 20 minutes, and screamed when I took her back down to the gym. Who screams when they have a chance to bounce on the trampoline? Seriously. Only my kid. Anyway, we drove home Monday afternoon, and got back just in time for Charley to pass out for the night. The perfect ending to a perfect holiday weekend.

Almost Done...

I guess this has become more of a weekly blog, as opposed to a daily blog, but I can't imagine people would actually want to read about the insignificant events in my life on a daily basis, so I think that's a good thing! This week was actually pretty mundane. Work has been winding down. I've written all of my IEPs and held all of meetings except one, which has been a difficult case, and all of my fellow special ed teachers would back me up on the fact that being done with IEPs is like losing 10 lbs. It feels GREAT! Anyway, work was pretty easy, and there wasn't a ton of excitement throughout the week. The kids are beginning to check-out during lessons, so I appear to be doing quite a bit of talking to myself. But that's okay, it's just one of the end-of-the-year things teachers have to deal with. Just 3 more weeks!

In terms of my workout program, I'm hitting a bit of a standstill. I've been going routinely, but I only went 4 days last week, when I have been going 6 days a week. I should've known going to Vegas and breaking my routine would kill me a little bit. Honestly, it's not that I don't want to go to the gym. It's that I'm finally hitting my wall with cardio. It's boring. Oh well, now that it's getting nice out, we can do more cardio outside, so hopefully that will help! I did have an interesting gym experience the other night. The gym always seems to be a place to people watch, because you have the VERY serious athletes doing their thing, the people who are clearly trying to lose a significant amount of weight, walking on the treadmill, and everything in between. On Thursday, there was quite a mix of people, and a couple stood out. One man was wearing shorts that probably measured a foot above the knee, and every time I saw him, he was just standing there, looking around, like a lost puppy. Another man, who was probably in his forties, was wearing jean shorts and a Vikings jersey. He creeped me out, though, because he seemed to be following me around as I worked out. He would sit on a piece of equipment about 2 stations down from me, and I could see him watching me from the corner of my eye. I wondered if he thought I was a trainer or something, and was copying what I was doing. But he never did any real exercises. He just kind of watched. So I spent my evening trying to avoid him, which, for some reason, put me on a lot of arm and back machines which, let's be honest, with these man-arms of mine, I don't really need! I could barely lift my arms on Friday, though...Anyway, I stayed away from the creeper and ducked out without doing any cardio (oh darn!). Ha!

On Friday night, Charley and I went to the gym for a little bit, and then headed to gymnastics. There was a little party going on for May birthdays, and I was excited to go do a little bit of tumbling with some friends! Charley fell about 19 years shy of the 21+ age rule, but I don't think anybody was worried about her trying to sneak a beer. Charley had a BLAST! She jumped on the Tumble Track for the better part of an hour, which wore her out a little bit (the kid has endless energy...). I got to tumble  just a little bit. It is funny how much going to workout regularly impacts my tumbling. I didn't try anything too difficult, but it's definitely easier to tumble when my muscles are stronger. I haven't really done any back tucks or handsprings on the floor since Charley was born, but I actually did a couple of real tumbling passes on Friday. It felt good! It got me excited to coach on Saturday, so I could jump in and tumble a little bit more!

So, Saturday morning I woke up a little bit late, and rushed around to get ready before the gym. We had to make a Starbucks stop, because I was slow to wake up. Is it bad that every time we pull up to a drive through, Charley asks for a cake pop? She doesn't know McDonald's, Burger King, or Taco Bell...She knows Starbucks. Oh well, I guess there could be worse things! I coached my regular classes and Charley came along and took her little preschool class at 9. She did a little bit better this week, and wasn't so focused on what I was doing. Baby steps...lol! I love my Saturday classes, particularly my last class, because the girls are a little bit more advanced, so they're fun to teach! We usually do quite a bit of tumbling, but this week we did more work with controlled skills, which was fun, and a little bit different for them. We also had a handstand contest, which I won, thank you very much! Honestly, I was surprised, because I'm pretty inconsistent when it comes to holding handstands (I usually start to walk)...Maybe all of that arm work on Thursday served a purpose! It enabled me to beat a bunch of 10 year olds in a contest! Ha! The funny thing is, there was one girl who was giving me a run for my money, and I said, "Reese, come down and let me win!" I was joking. But she did it! Lol! So, I gave her credit for the win. Some kids are so obedient, they don't even know when I'm kidding! I love her. I'm looking forward to coaching more this summer. I need to get out of the house, because when I'm cooped up all day I have WAY too much time to think. And yes, that's a bad thing. Ha! Anyway, I love coaching, and the interaction keeps me on my toes. Just the way I like it!

I had two sets of plans last night, and both fell through due to babysitting! Oh the life of a single mom. It's just one of those things that you get used to as a parent. Especially if your plans are with another parent. Sometimes, plans just don't work out!  It's okay, though. Charley spent a little bit of time with her auntie, and I got a chance to run some errands, toddler free. Yes! Although, I would've enjoyed dinner and drinks with Blair and Laura. Those two are ALWAYS a good time :) Anyway, Charley and I came home, ate some dinner,played for a bit, and went to bed early .Well, Charley went to bed early. I sat on the couch looking for something amusing to watch on TV, with no luck. When I finally did go to bed, my upstairs neighbors kept waking me up. I don't know if they were packing to go out of town, or hammering the floor right above my room (kidding), but they were LOUD! And it was midnight! I was thrilled. Not.

Charley woke up crabby today, and she's got a runny nose. She cried and cried when she requested a donut (thank you Curious George, for having an entire episode about donuts), and I told her we didn't have any. Nor did we have any "puffins" (muffins), and that didn't please her either. Ugh. It could be a long day. I was planning to take her to the park, but I guess we'll have to see how the day goes!  I'm hoping her cold goes away quickly, because we're headed to KC on Thursday for Memorial Day weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing some old friends, and getting my butt kicked in Power Pilates with Kellie! It should be a fun trip. Well, time to get back to reality. Have a great Sunday!

Late Night Car Rides, and Too Much Gin and Tonic

I haven't posted in awhile, but it was a bit of a crazy weekend. It all started on Friday night, when I picked up one of my girlfriends who had forgotten her keys at work. It was 11:00 p.m., and I was worried that transitioning Charley to the car would be a nightmare, but she was happy as she could be, and fell asleep the minute she was buckled in. So I started the 15 minute drive toward Uptown to pick her up, when I realized the highways were closed. I plugged my destination into my GPS, and figured it was no big deal, it would only add a few minutes to my drive. Ha! I was wishful thinking. The GPS kept directing me back to the highway, and the detours posted on the highway took me completely in the opposite direction that I needed to go. Ugh! The drive took forever, and it was after midnight by the time I got there to pick her up. She was totally grateful, but I felt terrible that I'd left her hanging for over an hour. When we got back to my house, my friend and I went straight to sleep. Charley, on the other hand, was a different story. I had given her the iPad, and figured she would doze off after a couple of minutes. Well, when I woke up over an hour later, she was still watching Shrek. Bad Mommy! Oh well, she napped well the next day.

Saturday morning I was a bit of a zombie. I was so tired from the busy week, and I had a crazy day ahead, so I got myself some Starbucks, and went to work. Charley was so excited to go to gymnastics and see her friends Aurora and Mae. She talked about them all the way to the gym. They're such great kids, and they just love gymnastics! It's always funny for me to see Charley from across the gym. She is generally giving the coaches a run for their money. This week, she was running back and forth on the trampoline instead of jumping. It was amusing. I just tried to ignore her and apologized to the coach later on! Saturday was a good coaching day. It was my first Saturday coaching in a couple of weeks, and it was really nice to see my gymnasts. When I left the gym at 2:00, I was still pretty tired, but I raced out of the gym to go get ready...because I had a date! I've said it before, and I'll say it again...There are a lot of crazies online, but there a couple of good guys, too. I was nervous, but the date was great! Phew.  Good food, great conversation, and a couple of beers. What could be better?

Saturday night, I went to The Legion with my friend Kim. We walked in and immediately realized we were out of place. Some woman was having a white-themed 50th birthday party (picture 50+ people in white clothes), and a couple seemed to be having an engagement party. So there we were, totally out of place, sitting at our little table, getting stared down by some creeper a couple tables over.  We were both pretty wiped out, so we pretty much planned on just one drink. I ordered my gin and tonic, and realized I hadn't eaten enough throughout the day to be drinking hard liquor. But I enjoyed my drink, and went up to order one more. Ummm....big mistake. I watched the bartender pour the drink, and it was pretty much straight gin with a couple of limes. I think I made it 2 sips in, before deciding that drink 2 just wasn't going to happen for me.I went back to my mom's house, hopped in bed, and slept like a rock...for about 3 hours. Then I woke up, sick to my stomach. Seriously? A little bit of beer in the afternoon and one drink hours later, and I was SICK? Yup. Totally threw up. I felt like a teenager who didn't know her tolerance. Pathetic? Maybe a little. Apparently I don't drink enough to consume beer and liquor on the same day. Anyhow, I was hung over for several hours on Mother's Day. Classy.

Charley and I had slept at my mom's on Saturday night, so we ate breakfast with her on Sunday. That was nice. When we left her house, we went and picked up Oscar (my dog) from my dad's house, and drove home. Of course the highways were still closed, so we had to take the back roads.At least I was prepared, this time! Charley slept in the car, and I got a chance to catch up with one of my girlfriends on the drive back to our house. When we got back, I was keeping my fingers crossed that Charley would stay asleep and transition to her bed. No such luck! Instead, she whined and decided to be crabby. I thought a walk in the stroller would put her back to sleep. Again, no luck. We got about three houses down, and she saw her friend Sawyer playing with his brother and sister outside. At this point, I knew a nap wasn't going to happen, so we invited Sawyer and his sister to walk with us. We all walked around the block, and with other kids around, Charley's mood improved drastically. I didn't have a sleeping child, but at least I didn't have a crabby child anymore! Sawyer ran ahead, while Charley walked with his sister, Ayla, who listened to everything Charley had to say. She is such a sweet little girl. Of course, just as we were rounding the corner, about 1 minute from making it back to the house, Sawyer tripped and scraped his nose on the ground. Poor kiddo. He barely cried, though! Such a boy! Then I got an amazing Mother's Day gift. Sawyer's mom offered to keep Charley for awhile so I could have a break. It was so nice, and definitely appreciated. I went home and took a little bit of a nap, which made me a much happier mommy. I went back to get Charley, and found a happy little girl, sliding down the slide. It's great to have other kids in the neighborhood that Charley likes so much!

We went to my mom's for dinner again on Sunday night, and that was nice. It took us forever to get there, though, because all of the detours for the highway had detours themselves. Every different back road I took seemed to have its own detour. Figures! Anyway, dinner was great, and we went to bed just about as soon as we got home. I woke up at 3 a.m. with heartburn. Seriously? That hasn't happened in years. I was up for awhile, but finally got myself back to sleep for a couple of hours, until Charley came knocking on my door. I had a terrible headache and my stomach was upset. That's basically how I felt all day. I actually wasn't looking forward to coaching, because I was afraid I'd be cranky. I made it through coaching, went to bed, and woke up feeling MUCH better this morning. Now my biggest issue is the fact that Charley is insisting on apple juice (which we ran out of yesterday), and throwing a fit. That's the way to start the day off right! Have a good day!

Back to the Grind

It's actually been a pretty busy week! I knew when I came back from Vegas, without working for a week, that I would have my hands full. But I had no idea what I'd be coming back to! Thankfully Gretchen warned me that the school was switching our email system, because otherwise I would've been screwed when I got back to work on Monday. Anyway, where do I start?

I'm just going to say a quick word on the email issues I've had at work, and I know my fellow teachers  can relate. For some reason, the email system needed to change a month before school is out. Generally, that would be an annoyance, but not a big deal. I think my biggest issue is that it also hit during the week that the special education teachers were slammed with IEPs. Fitting for teacher appreciation week, right? Ha! Anyway, I had tons of paperwork to send out, and I found out mid-week that half of it never got out to the parents or other teachers. Ugh. Lucky for me, I work with awesome parents and teachers, and all of the meetings went on as planned. Phew!

I got back to the gym this week, and boy have I needed it. It felt good to get back into my routine, but it was surprising to me how much difference a week makes, when it comes to being in shape. I was pretty winded after my first workout, and I've been sore for the last four days. I'm sure I'll continue to be sore for a week or so, but I'll have to deal with it.Sidenote: As I've let some of my girlfriends know, I'll forever be using a combination lock from now on at the gym. It only takes one time with your key dropping from your top to the floor, hitting every piece of metal, and clanking loudly, all the way to the floor. Embarrassing? Ummm...yes, just a little.

Yesterday was exciting, because I got the CD of photos from Charley's photo shoot in the mail. Tser did SUCH a good job with the photos. Not everybody can capture a child's personality in photographs, but Tser managed to get ALL of Charley's personality captured on film. The photos are amazing.

I went out with my friend Beth yesterday, because she wanted to go to the mall. I love shopping, because it gets me out of the house. Usually I don't buy anything, but just chase Charley around the stores. It's a nice chance for her to get energy out. I actually bought a couple of shirts yesterday, though, which is a rare occurrence. I've got to build my summer wardrobe at some point! Anyway, shopping was fun, and when I got home and opened my closet, I decided it was time to do my seasonal clean out. I have a love-hate relationship with my closet. It generally takes me awhile to clear out winter clothes, get rid of the things I don't wear, and hang up my summer clothes...but it feels so good to have it done!

Today was a busy day. Lots of meetings and classes. By the time I went to the gym, I was already yawning. Then, I had the bright idea to run to the grocery store to grab some things for the next couple of days. When I got home and looked in my bags, I realized there's a reason I usually write myself a list. I had things like cereal, popcorn, and frozen pancakes, but nothing to make for a meal. Maybe I shouldn't go shopping when I'm tired and hungry, just looking for things that sound appealing at the time....Oh well, the pancakes made a good dinner!

Alright, bed time for me! I've got a busy weekend ahead, and I'm looking forward to it. More in the next couple of days!

Busy, Busy Sunday!

Well, I finally got some sleep, and looked back at yesterday's post. As I imagined, there were several grammatical errors, which totally drives me crazy, so I'll  probably go back and fix them. I can't help myself, I'm a grammar freak. Anyway, enough of the boring stuff, I actually had a pretty interesting day!

I went to bed right after posting last night, and slept like a rock. That is, until Charley woke up at 5:00. Lucky me. I let her come into my room, and I handed her the iPad, just like any good mom would do, so I could doze a little longer. Naturally, I fell back to sleep, and when I woke up, I found Charley with a Dove chocolate in her hand. She looked right at me, said "Good morning, Mommy! Chocolate!" Lovely. She had found the stash of treats I'd purchased for our flights. She made sure to get melted chocolate all over her face and hands. So I cleaned her up, and oddly enough she went back to sleep until nearly 10:00. It was great! It wasn't exactly a relaxing day, though.  Once Charley woke up, we went the zoo, which was really a nice time. Charley loves looking at the animals, and she followed my friend's daughter around like a little puppy dog. Charley just loves other kids, and most of my closest friends in MN don't have kids, so it was nice to get her together with another kiddo so she could get a little bit of social interaction.

After the zoo, I took Charley to my dad's so she could hang out with Scott for an hour while I coached a private lesson. The lesson was great, and I returned to find a happy child. I couldn't ask for anything better! I planned to go to the gym myself, after coaching for a bit, but I got an invitation to my friend's house for margaritas and enchiladas. So I asked myself, workout OR eat with my girlfriends? Clearly the girlfriends won out. It was fun to catch up with them, and Charley had a blast running around in the back yard. She wouldn't touch the enchiladas until we told her it was cake. Then she took a bite, which she promptly spit out. Oh well, it was worth a shot! I made a comment at dinner that totally got a laugh, and it wasn't intentionally a joke. I think it was something along the lines of, "Heck no! He didn't have a darn clue!" My friend Lindsay looked me and said, "That was SUCH a mom thing to say!" Apparently I rely on my parental terminology, and the mom in me doesn't seem to disappear when I'm with my girls! Ha!

After leaving my friend's house, Charley and I ran to Target to get some groceries, and then came home, where I made Charley some dinner and played dress up for awhile. She had a screaming fit when I wouldn't let her eat dinner in her leotard (part of our fun little dress up game). She still can't quite pronounce it right, and was screaming a word that is particularly embarrassing for a special education teacher at the top of her lungs, for a solid 5 minutes. Nice. She fell asleep shortly after that, so I can imagine I will be up early again tomorrow. Now, I'm actually getting a chance to relax on the couch and watch a movie. Just what I need before starting back at work tomorrow!

Vegas Adventures

I've been such a slacker with my blog lately, but I was in Vegas. Who wants to blog in Vegas? I'll definitely blog ABOUT Vegas, though! Before I get started, I'm stating right now, that I will not fly again with Charley for at least another year, OR unless I have someone traveling with me. Traveling with a toddler is never easy, but when you're on your own, watch out! It can be a disaster!

When we got to the airport last Saturday, Charley was very excited. She knew we would be going on an airplane, and had been talking about it for several weeks. She ran through the airport, pushing her baby dolls in her stroller, and was in a great mood. Until, of course, we got on the plane. Once we boarded, it was a mixture of sleeping, and screaming for the entire two and a half hour flight. Then, we landed in Vegas, at 1a.m. and had to go pick up our rental car. We were both a mess at that point. She was tired because it was one in the morning, and I was tired from trying to keep her from screaming on the plane! I was also frustrated, because I was walking with a purse, diaper bag, car seat, luggage, stroller, AND Charley, and nobody offered to help me. They just looked on, pitying me. I got to my friend Janine's house at about 3 a.m. and I've never been so happy to go to sleep.


On Sunday, I took Charley to visit her dad and Grammy. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the pool along with Janine, her husband Eric, and some of his friends. It was nice to have some adult conversation! Sunday was pretty unproductive, though, because I was still tired from the flight, so all I could really force myself to do was socialize until around 7, then Charley and I went to bed! Monday, however, was a different story. I actually had a whole day to myself. It was amazing. I got a pedicure, went to the gym, relaxed by the pool with a margarita, listened to music...it felt great to just relax and do things for myself! At the end of the day, I picked up Charley, and we went to get some photos taken by a friend of mine. Charley was a bit of a mess, because she hadn't napped all day. But my friend did an incredible job. You couldn't tell that Charley was crabby in the photos!

Tuesday through Thursday weren't quite as relaxing. I had to drive across town at 7a.m. every day to administer the NV CRTs (state standardized tests). Testing is fun, and miserable at the same time. It's fun, because I get to meet some of my students, who are adorable by the way, and I get to work with some really wonderful people. But it's incredibly boring, walking around, watching kids fill in bubbles on a Scantron sheet. Anyway, we had a couple of fiascoes, but overall, testing was a positive experience. One of my favorite testing moments was when two of my students, who became fast friends when they met in person,  were joking around before everybody arrived to take the assessment. One of them had a piece of gum fall out of his mouth. He said, "That's okay, it was all out of fruit anyway." My friend Kristy and I laughed out loud. It was cute.

I got to socialize a little bit, so that was nice. There were people I would have liked to see that I didn't get the chance to, but that'll happen on another trip! Lucky for me,  I had Janine to chat with every day which was great, because she's one of my closest friends. I also got to see Pat, Shelly, their daughter Paige, and Melissa, some of my former co-workers, which was really nice. Pat made the best pizza I've ever eaten in my life. I'm totally getting the recipe! I also got a chance to see Jennifer, my former boss, at her gym and got to catch up with my little gymnasts. That was great. I love seeing how much they've grown and improved.

Thursday night I got to go out with my friends Gretchen and Cori. Seriously, I knew we would have fun, but I had no idea so much. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. We seriously just chatted, and shared stories for hours. It was amazing. One of my favorite parts of the night was when Gretchen asked a woman to take a picture of us, while giving specific instructions on HOW to take the picture. Gretchen is about as sweet as pie, and a very positive person. However,when the picture was taken, Gretchen wasn't satisfied (and didn't want to say so), she took one herself! Lol. What was even better was that she saw the same woman take a picture of some other people. Gretchen mumbled under her breath, "She took a better picture of them." Ha! It cracked me up.They also enjoyed looking at the online dating profiles that were being sent to my phone all night. It's funny, because I truly don't even log in and look at people anymore. I just try to clear out the emails, so they stop showing up on my phone. I'm a little OCD, and hate when the number of messages pops up on my iPhone. I need to figure out how to turn that setting off... Anyway, they got a couple of good laughs from Shifty and Lion Star King's profiles. They're winners. Lol! The problem is, those guys probably think I'm actually viewing their profiles out of interest, thus encouraging them. Whoops! I actually broke down and sent them messages asking them, in the nicest way possible, to leave me alone. I truly do have a love-hate relationship with online dating. Lots of weirdos, but there are a few good people in the mix, and if you find a good one, it's worth dealing with the crazies.

Friday, I had taken the day off, and got to have a little more "me" time. It was nice. I met Janine for lunch at an amazing restaurant for Greek salad, hummus, and the world's most amazing fries. When I lived in Vegas, we went there at least once a month, but neither of us has been there since having our kids. It was amazing. Then, Charley came back from her dad's house, and she got to play with Janine's little guy, Joseph, at an indoor playground. Her favorite thing to do was shut me in the play house. I think I was in a children's play house for a total of 45 minutes. I'm sure it was a sight to see. I think watching Charley and Joseph play together, eat meals together, and watch Elmo together....Those were my favorite parts of the trip. Charley woke up every morning, saying, "Go see JoJo?" It's very sweet.

So, we were scheduled for a red-eye flight last night, and were supposed to leave Vegas at 12 a.m. Sure enough, Charley wasn't into napping, and was crabby when we got to the airport. I will say I had several people help me this time, though, so making our way through the airport was significantly easier than it had been on the way to Vegas. Anyway, we got in line for our boarding passes, and I heard a couple of voices yell, "Charley! Hi Charley!" I looked up and saw some of the passengers on our flight out to Vegas. They were smiling and talking to her. They were the ONLY people who didn't seem to show their disdain for her screaming fits, and tried to help calm her down. They were nice people. But I couldn't help but be embarrassed that they knew my child by name. Of course, when I got my boarding pass, I was informed that the flight was over two hours late. I was thrilled, of course, to be waiting in the airport for 4 hours, with my strong-willed little munchkin. She was well-behaved, though and totally made up for her horrible behavior on our first flight. For the record... on the second flight, I didn't hold her or let her sit in the regular seat. I brought her car seat on board. Parents, I TOTALLY recommend it. She got in the seat, and instantly fell asleep. Thank goodness!

We got back to Minneapolis around 8 a.m. and I tried to get a little bit of sleep in. At this point, I'm running on ABOUT 3 hours, so if there are typos in this post, please try to overlook them. Ha! I went to work for a little while, taught a class, and then had a staff meeting. This might have been the best staff meeting ever. Almost the entire staff showed up (close to 30 people), and we did a whole bunch of stretching with these stretching straps. It was like a bunch of adults just playing like little kids. We were having so much fun. It just reinforces the fact that gymnasts are really just a little bit different. I can't imagine going into a room of non-gymnasts and watching them use straps to try to increase their range of motion and flexibility, while laughing at each other and pushing each other over. It was pretty cool. And now, here I am, ready for bed at 9:00. I'm sure I forgot some amusing details from the trip.I'll fill them into future posts, as they come to me! Goodnight!

Toilet Phones, and Charley'isms

I've been a total slacker with the blog the last couple of days, but I've actually been really busy. Charley has had a cold or allergies (probably both) since Friday, which means she hasn't been sleeping well. Hence, I haven't been sleeping well! Last night was a little bit better, though, so I finally got caught up on some sleep, thank goodness. I was looking tired...VERY tired. And let's be honest, that's not a good look on anyone!

So, I have to get  caught up here a little bit. Saturday I was supposed to go to one of my oldest friends' baby shower. It turned out I had to work and couldn't go until later in the day, but I got myself all made-up and fancy before going to work...at the gym. I got Charley all ready and as I stood up, I heard a "Plop!" sound in the toilet. Sure enough, I had dropped my phone in the toilet. Yuck. Lucky for me it was just in water, but still, it's gross. I dried off the phone, thrilled it still worked, and was surprised I'd gotten away with dropping my phone in water with no real issues! Yeah, I was fooling myself. When I got in the car, I realized that my phone was leaking water. I hadn't thought to take out the battery and see if there was water INSIDE the phone. It was early, give me a break! So, I turned my phone off and took out the battery as I drove to work. When I put my phone back together before I went to the shower, of course, it didn't work. It worked a little bit, but there were clearly some disconnects, so I left it lying out, to try to dry it out. I drove to the shower...and 45 minutes later I still couldn't find it. I didn't have a way to reach anybody and ask for directions, so I was basically screwed. After an hour of searching, I gave up. I was SO disappointed to miss the shower. I LOVE baby showers! From there, I met my dad at an electronics store and bought a replacement iPad. I'm going on a plane this upcoming weekend with Charley, and if we didn't have an iPad, I think the whole plane would be in for it!  We got a mini this time, not just because it's more affordable, but also because I think it will be easier for Charley to carry and NOT destroy. Fingers crossed!

I know I've said in recent posts that I've really been in need of a break, lately. I noticed that the YMCA, where Charley and I go just about every day, had a parent's night out event. Basically, I could drop Charley off at 4 and pick her up at 7:30, without spending an arm and a leg. I took advantage. I went shopping with one of my friends, and was planning on meeting some of my girlfriends for drinks later in the evening. But by about 5:00, it became clear that I wasn't going to last for drinks. I was exhausted. When you look in the mirror and the dark circles under your eyes make it look like you have two black eyes, it's a sign that you need sleep. I needed sleep. I was bummed to miss out on girl time, because I really need a girls' night, but I needed to take care of myself. It worked out just fine, too, because Charley still wasn't feeling great, and I would've felt bad leaving her with a sitter after she had been occupied with other people all day long! When I picked her up at the Y, she was talking the ear off of one of the employees (go figure). She was happy as could be, but her poor little nose was running, and she was coughing. So I got her home, had her in bed by 8:30, and I went to sleep shortly thereafter. It was great.

She looks like she has sneaky intentions...

Sunday, I awoke, CERTAIN that my phone would be dried out and working perfectly! I turned it on. It worked!!! But there was only like 15% battery left. It wouldn't charge. Ugh. So, I went to the Tmobile store, and was told that I basically needed to get a new phone. Bye bye tax refund! Lucky for me, I had insurance on the phone, but they didn't have my phone in stock when I called the number, so somehow it worked out that I paid $150 and got an iPhone instead of a replacement for my old phone. BEST DECISION EVER! I'm a little addicted. The iPhone is AMAZING. Charley and I met up with my friend Sean and his daughter at the Mall of America after that. Charley had been talking about it all day. Sean and Haley went on rides, while Charley and I walked around, primarily people watching (which is an incredibly fun activity at the MOA), and it was nice. I just HATE the Mall of America on the weekends. I was pushing a stroller, but I was on a mission. Most stroller pushers at the MOA have a habit of randomly stopping, looking around, and talking to the group of 18 people they are shopping with, who are spread across the entire hallway so nobody can get by. Good thing I have quick reflexes, or I might have run over some feet! It was fun, and great for Charley, because she loves kids. It is really nice to have a few friends with kiddos for her to hang out with... But I was ready to leave after an hour or so!

I went to the gym Sunday night, and then again in the morning yesterday. Before we went yesterday, I had a couple of things to pick up at Target, so we stopped there first. Charley insisted on carrying the basket, which was her size, of course, so it extended our shopping trip by at least 10 minutes. When we went up to the checkout counter, Charley was rambling, as usual. She said to the cashier, "Oh my gosh, she is SUCH a dork!" I was mortified.The lady looked at me and asked, "What is she saying." I just replied, "I have no idea! Sometimes it's hard to understand what she's saying." But it wasn't hard to understand. It was clear as day. Thank goodness the cashier had missed it! Phew. From there, we went to the gym where Charley told the childcare worker who checked her in, "Usher is so HOT!" She was on a roll, I'm telling you! For the second time in 15 minutes, my face turned all kinds of shades of red. The employee just laughed, and said, "He sure is!" Ah well, at least she's not saying, "Oh crap!" anymore.

With all of the crazy stuff Charley says and does, sometimes I forget how smart she is. She really is a bright kid. And cute. Yes, I'm a mom, raving about how wonderful my child is...But when we got home yesterday, I got myself all set up on the couch, and Charley insisted on sitting next to me with her toy computer. She began "typing," and then said, "Good morning, James! How are you today? Mommy's teaching right now." She was talking into her computer, the way that I do when I'm teaching classes. It was cute. Then she looked at me and said, matter-of-factly, "Mommy, I'm teaching a class right now." She continued "teaching" for quite some time, and got very excited when my students actually started showing up to my class and she got to say hello. It was fun to watch, and just shows how she observes EVERYTHING.

One final note this morning...It snowed like CRAZY last night. Just one more reason to look forward to Vegas. 4 more days! Have a great day!

Alone Time= AMAZING!

I forgot to mention earlier that I had an awful, Minnesota insect experience last night. I was cleaning up after Charley had gone to bed, and went to put a washcloth from the tub in with the laundry. When I picked up the washcloth, a disgusting, inch-long bug, came crawling out from under it with lightning speed (or at least it seemed that way...melodramatic? Maybe a little...). It startled me, but I stifled my scream, because I'm kind of fond of the theory that anybody who wakes Charley up at night deserves to be punched in the stomach. So I ran around looking for a shoe or something to kill it with. This is why I need a man around...Not because I need a man to kill a bug. I can do that myself...But because I HATE using my own shoes to do it. My whole life, anytime I saw a bug, I'd grab the nearest shoe...as long as it didn't belong to me!  Ha! Is that bad? Anyway, I found an old shoe, went back into the bathroom, and of course it had disappeared. I waited for a minute or so, and sure enough, when it darted across the room, I got it with my shoe. Gross.

Tonight, I was actually pretty busy...but I had alone time! It was amazing. I took Charley to the gym after work, and of course she had a great time. Then, she went over to play with her Aunt Kelsey (whom she calls DeeDee), while I did a little bit of shopping. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I went shopping alone? It's been FOREVER! And I found it totally amazing how much easier it is to get things done when I was on my own. I got everything I need for my Vegas trip, including a cute little dress for Charley's photo shoot while we're there, and it took me about an hour. When I take Charley to the store, I know EXACTLY what I'm looking for, and generally don't have time to try things on...or if I DO try things on, I'm racing to do it, before she starts running wild. Tonight I took my time, and got exactly what I needed. It was amazing. I've known for awhile that I need to take more time for myself (more than just going to the gym...I wouldn't want them to catch on to the fact that at least half of my reason for going is for the free childcare...). Tonight just confirmed that. When I looked in the mirror as I tried clothes on, I noticed the dark circles under my eyes. I looked tired. Which is why I left the mall at 8:30, came home and put Charley in bed, and I'm about to go to bed myself.

By the way...the last couple of nights as I've been putting Charley to sleep, Oscar has come into the bedroom with us. It's completely silent in the room, except for the sound of Oscar licking his paws. It's the most awful sound. Like fingernails on a chalk board. It's just terrible. I tried throwing a pillow near him one time to get his attention, and make him stop. What happened? The pillow landed ON him, instead of next to him, and he didn't even pause for a half a second. It drives me crazy.

Okay, I promised a teaching story, so I have a quick one for you tonight. It was inspired by the poorly written emails I've received while dating online. When I taught in Las Vegas, the majority of my students were Hispanic. Many of their families didn't speak English at all, so most of my students had noticeable accents. I thought they were adorable, but found out quickly how difficult it made spelling. They spelled words the way they heard them. As one of their first writing prompts, I had the students tell me about their favorite candy. They had to describe it, tell me why they liked it, etc. One of my students wrote about his favorite candy...Sneakers. It took me a minute to process it, but when I realized he was writing about Snickers, I laughed out loud. Mostly because he DID spell it right, in terms of the way that he would hear or say the word. When I read the paper, I could hear his squeaky little voice, asking me for a Sneakers bar. Ha! On that note, goodnight!

Exhaustion and a New Swimsuit

Tonight, I'm just exhausted. Between Charley and work, I'm getting worn down. I'm going to bed early tonight, and sleeping in tomorrow. I hope Charley gets that memo! Fingers crossed. I think part of my issue is waking up early to go to the gym, but I really like going. I'm seeing results, too! There have been several times in my life where I've lost weight or just toned up, by getting my butt back in the gym. This is one of those times. Tonight I went shopping, and actually purchased a new swimsuit. It's the first time I've bought a bikini since I was pregnant with Charley, so it's a little bit of a big deal. Like most women, I avoid swimsuit shopping like the plague.  But I've been working hard at the gym, and it didn't look nearly as awful as I thought it would! In fact, shopping was actually FUN tonight, because the clothes didn't look terrible on me! Now if only I had the money to buy all of the things I liked...Come on tax refund!

It's interesting to me how losing even the smallest amount of weight can make a big difference in how people look, when weight training is involved. I remember my senior year of college, when I got back in shape. In the first semester, I lost about 20 lbs, and felt great. People commented, but I don't think there was that much of a difference in how I looked. Here's the funny part...In the second semester, I took a body toning and weight training class to fill up some of my elective credits. Suddenly, people were commenting on my weight loss like crazy. Some girl I didn't even know came up to me and told me how I looked like I'd lost 20 lbs, and she could see such a difference. How much weight do you think I'd lost? 2 lbs. That's right. 2 lbs. My enormous weight loss went virtually unnoticed, but I lost 2 lbs, and all of a sudden it was noticeable? It was crazy. But that's the way I feel right now. I'm not really losing weight, nor am I trying to. But with all of the training for the Tough Mudder, I can see changes in my appearance, and it's kind of rewarding. Definitely a good feeling.

Like I said, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to keep this post brief tonight. I thought of a good teaching story this morning. I mentioned a student before, Jacob, who burned me with a hot glue gun. Well, I did some work with Jacob outside of school, taking him to gymnastics for open gym. At the gym, Jacob socialized with other kids, developed muscle coordination...it was good for him. It was fun, too, watching him introduce himself to the other kids, and join in on games and other activities at the gym. Sometimes, though, Jacob was a little bit off, and would try to "escape." By escape, I mean, he would run out of the gym, making eye contact with me the entire time. It was like he was saying, "Ha! Screw you, I can get out of here, and you can't catch me!" It was a game. I knew it was a game, so I didn't play into it. That drove him crazy. One day, when I was putting my shoes on, he decided he was going to escape, so he flew out of the gym, and down the hall. I followed him, walking slowly. He stopped before running outside, to make sure I was paying attention to him. I said his name, and calmly asked him to come back. He stuck his tongue out at me. So, instead of talking, I pointed back to the gym. He sighed dramatically, and slowly sauntered back toward me, and back to the gym. "Try again," I said. Basically, when he behaved inappropriately, I would make him start the activity over. In this case, he had to leave the gym appropriately (walking with me). He started walking by my side, then suddenly, he got a gleam in his eye, and made a break for it again. Again, I caught his eye, and pointed back to the gym. It took us 7 tries to get out of the gym that day. He might have been persistent, but I'm stubborn, and he learned not to test me, because I will ALWAYS follow through. I love that kid!