“Perfect” she reported. I was speechless. I don’t think she’s ever said that about school before.

Day two came back with a great review too so I think things will be okay for a while. I say a while because the homework hasn’t started hitting yet. One of the other teacher dolled out homework today but my daughter lucked out. Sounds like she won’t have any until next week! Yeah for enjoying the last week of summer! (Yes, I know summer doesn’t officially end on the calendar yet but let’s face it – here in Ohio it really is from Memorial Day to Labor Day that the weather is decent enough to call it summer. Next week will be more fall. Pools will be winterized next week but I’m not sure when I’ll have time to do mine. Sure doesn’t seem like I spent a lot of time in it. Guess that’s what happens when I spend a bulk of my awake time working or ….well…working at home on chores.

Time to pull the kid out of the shower and throw her in bed!

Today was my daughter’s last day of summer vacation. Hard to believe tomorrow is the first day of school. I’m not ready yet. I read through the booklet sent home by the teacher and the work load is phenomenal. I’m panicking and it’s not my homework! I just have to remember I have a college degree so it cannot be harder than that. You would not believe some of the things they are asking of these kids!

1. Must keep three ring zippered binder in order. Will be checked weekly with a checklist sent home to me to go through with her.

2. Must read 15 minutes every night minimum and it has to be a book at her grade level and one she’s never read before. So much for the stash of books around the house. Hello library.

3. Spelling/sentence tests every week.

4. Book reports every month.

etc.

Ugh.

This is third grade folks.

To add to our stress my ex-husband has been the jerk of all jerks today. Let’s just say it’s been one of those days I really regret talking him out of suicide all those years ago.

That about sums it up!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I’ve been madly going through the house and preparing it for when I don’t have time to do anything with it. I know that sounds odd but with travel soccer games starting this next week and school starting in two days I needed to prepare.

I’ve heard a lot of rumors that third grade is homework hell year. I asked the teacher tonight during preview night if the rumors were true and she said they are. She agreed that third puts fourth and fifth and all the years she’s been through to shame. Why do they do that?! Why can the not just be kids and play with friends? Then again, Meg’s close friend in many states away now.

Tonight we started the to-bed-early routine. She didn’t like the idea and was wired so it was hard. I finally told her sternly she had to close her eyes and to leave the dog alone. She’s almost asleep now and it’s quarter after nine. Hopefully tomorrow night will go better.

I’ve done a lot of purging of cluttered areas of my house. Don’t get me wrong – I have a long way to go but It’s improving.

Well, that’s all for now!

My daughter is at a slumber party tonight so I spent the evening weeding, mowing and other yard work. It was nice to get things done and relax a little from another crazy work week. The temperatures today were ideal for me – upper 70’s so I was in mental bliss.

Zoe played with a neighbor’s dog (her new best friend though her most favorite best friend is in Texas now) and I chatted with the adults. Zoe and I took a casual walk around the block. It was so nice. I felt good. I really loved my house and neighborhood tonight.

I decided to end my evening with a borrowed movie from a family friend. I was just nearing the end of the movie when a flash of light caught my eye. I looked out the window to see the skitzo from a little more than a block away slinking down my sidewalk. It was after 11:00 at night. I’ve been told to watch her because she’s been known to walk into people’s houses uninvited. I’ve seen her picking through garbage cans near the pharmacy. I’ve over heard her talking to the pharmacist about the government paying for her stuff. She walks everywhere she goes as her car must be broken and has been for several years. Nobody is really sure if her elderly mom is still living in the house or not. She used to yell horrible things to my neighbor who moved. That crazy lady was one of the reasons they wanted out of this neighborhood.

Buzz kill to my night of bliss…

Now I have the urge to find the padlock for my shed I haven’t had on in years.

As I’m scolding my daughter for the umpteenth time to get into the shower after her soccer practice she whines back “do I have to use soap?”

“Uh, yea, what else did you have in mind?”

She replied, “I thought it was just to rinse the sweat.

[smacks forehead]

I’m finding that I’m really effected by lack of sunshine. Hard to motivate. My dad and I were talking on the phone tonight and he said he was really tired today too. I told him about the lack of sun theory and he said I had better suck in all the rays I can because winter is around the corner and I swear the sun turns off until next summer around here. Since we live by a great lake we get a lot of residual clouds.

Since I don’t want to bore with medical stuff I’ll only say that what I thought would be a routine doc visit for blood pressure ended up being a whole ordeal. I had an on the spot EKG, send downstairs for a kidney ultrasound, urinalisys and a ton of blood work. I’ve lost a significant amount of weight in the last few months and the doctor is really worried since I haven’t been on a strict diet. I’ve eaten the same crap day in and day out that I usually do. Since I started a water pill for my blood pressure a few months ago she’s worried all the weight I lost was water weight and is very concerned about my heart and possibly kidneys. I looked at her and said “This seems serious.” Her reply was “It is very serious”. Now, that is not what I was looking for. I was expecting “It’s probably nothing but we are just running a few tests.”

I’ll know my results hopefully by the end of the week. Cross your fingers!

Work has been incredibly stressful lately. That’s even with my boss gone and she returns tomorrow! Hold me!

Our neighbors have been gone a week now and it still seems so weird! I drive by their house expecting to see them playing outside or cars in the driveway like I have for the last 7 years. Nothing. We’ve been staying in touch via email and phone which is good. We’re supposed to get pictures of the city we live in and mail them down so the daughter can show her new friends she meets when school starts where she came from.

School starts in two weeks from today! Hard to believe! Where did the summer go?! I’m really worried about the homework load on top of travel soccer. Anyone had any experience with travel sports and homework?

That’s the latest!

I’m officially a soccer mom. My daughter is now playing travel soccer as opposed to house soccer. This weekend is the first tournament. She has four games. Yes, she’s 8 years old and will be playing FOUR games! The bummer is that she’s been stuck at my mom’s, ex’s or my house all week with little to no exercise because of all the heat and humidity plus her bites. She’s missed practice so she will be out of shape. I just hope the bites don’t scar or burn. I’m going to try to lather sunscreen on top of the steroid cream. Let’s hope it soaks in!

I’m so glad the humidity has let up for today. Tomorrow isn’t looking quite as good but we’ll see. She’s got a decent break between games which is good for her so she can rest. Though someone told me the team all goes out to lunch sometimes. I’m painfully broke and not sure how I’m going to afford that!

So do I get the cool sticker for my car now?

Well, that was a first. I’ve had my dog for almost two years and tonight for the first time she absolutely flipped out over a storm. She’s normally calm and across the room in her bed or something. Tonight she was glued to me shaking like a leaf. If I stood up she was glued to my ankles. I swaddled her in a blanket by my side and checked the radar. My phone started ringing from friends and family wondering what the weather situation was when I heard it…very faint. The tornado siren.

I hung up the phone immediately and looked at the dog who was in sheer panic mode. I knew she sensed it. She knew something was very wrong. I flipped through all the stations, all the websites, Dad called, none of us could find anything. I called the non-emergency police number (hey, I’m a tax payer damn-it!) and they put me on hold. Meg and her friend ran to me and said “is that the siren?”

I ran next door but the neighbor wasn’t home. I ran back and grabbed her garage code off the fridge and sent the girls and dog to the neighbors basement. The scanner reported a funnel storm spotters were following just south of where I live. The friend came up the stairs and said “she said the tornado is for X county and that we live in X county but we live in Z county.” I looked at her and said, “No, we live in X county and the warning is for X county.” Her eyes bulged out of her head and she said “IT IS?!” I said, “Yes, that’s why we are here right now.” refering to the neighbors house. She ran back down the stairs.

What’s even more interesting is that my daughter is also normally calm during storms but this friend apparently is not. She got all wound up which of course wound up my daughter. The two of them were genuinely flipped out. This did NOT make the dog feel any better either. [sigh]

The friend said “I’m scared!” I said as I’ve told my daughter before, “You don’t need to be scared. If you see me scared – then you should be scared.” Heck, I have a meteorology degree for crying out loud. If you see me scared be very afraid! I didn’t tell it to her like that though ; )

We came out of it all fine. Now the dog and daughter are sawing logs well before their bed times. I’m still blown away by the dogs reaction though.

My daughter is back from camping with her dad and his side of the family. The good news is there is no broken bones and she’s still eating and breathing. The bad news is that she is covered – every square inch of her arms, hands, fingers, neck and head with bites. They aren’t entirely sure what kind of bites they are. She apprently had several layers of bug spray on. Her cousin is the only other one affected by this and she shared a bed with her. So, what I am thinking is it’s either an attack of famished mosquitoes who ate no matter what it tasted or smelled like or it’s ticks. I’m talking hundreds of bites.

When we got home from my having picked her up from her dad’s the first thing I did was call the doctor. She said to dose her up with benedryl at night and claritin during the day. Only cold oatmeal baths. If it doesn’t show improvement in the next day or two she will have to have a cortisone shot. She said to watch for signs of shock just in case. I kid you not – her hands are swollen like Mickey’s gloves.

For a few minutes I wondered if it was a bad case of chicken pox but my neighbor told me that I would find the bumps on her torso more. The doctor said if in the next day or two the bumps don’t get better that she has to have them all coated with clear nail polish. I told my neighbor who said “Do they sell nail polish by the gallon?”

[sigh]

As I’ve probably said in previous posts…I’m a very sentimental and sensitive person. I don’t handle change well. I like to keep things as they are so I don’t have to say goodbye and know it will never be the same again. Today has been one of those days of goodbye and it’s been extremely hard.

It started this morning with my dog Zoe’s best friend since I brought her home at 8 weeks old came over for their last play date. I had to pick up S from her house around the corner and walked into an empty house with a packed moving van out front. I grabbed S and brought her home to my home for the two of them to race around and play in the yard one last time. I brought out the video camera to capture some of the moment on tape and the tears began.

When I was done mowing the back yard and the pups were getting tired and hot I hosed down S who is a yellow lab and heats up quickly and walked the two of them over to her house. I sat in the back yard for a little while and in my mind was playing over the images of the dogs running circles around the lot and a half fenced in yard. The kids screaming and running around, climing on the swing set, sliding down the slip in slide and playing a round of baseball. The tears flowed once again.

I tried to get involved with helping pack and move things to try to keep my mind off of it. That house has been in Mike’s family for a long time. His grandpa built that house and raised his dad in it. Now it sits an empty shell with a For Sale sign in front. Marks in the carpet where furniture had been. Worn down floors from where tiny feet had run in and out of rooms. Now it sits empty.

My daughter is camping this weekend with her dad and his family. I’m not sure if having her gone is good or bad. On one hand her friend K wanted her there so bad. She needed the support. It was eating my daughter to not be there for her and to spend every last minute with her before she goes. On the other hand I’ve been a wreck. The last thing she needs is to see me this way.

Now I’m left to pick up the pieces from a dog who’s lost her best friend and a daughter who come Wednesday night is losing hers.

The three kids have been like brother and sisters to her. The ones she’s never had of her own. This past week they lost two out of three pets. The oldest dog had to be put down which was horribly painful and yesterday afternoon the kids’ guinea pig passed away. My daughter doesn’t know about the guinea pig and I know I’m going to have to tell her because she’ll ask K about it. I’m glad my daughter said goodbye to the pets before she left. They will be leaving for Texas with only one pet…my dog’s best friend.

Mike, the truck, trailer, van and his caravaning parents are leaving at the crack of dawn in the morning. S and the kids are leaving Thursday morning so come Wednesday night we are going to have to say our final goodbyes. Mike and I were a wreck today and especially when we said our goodbyes. I had a hard time saying goodbye to S and seeing all the belongings packed in the trailer.

All the times my daughter would say “Mom? Can I go play with K?” Those days are almost over. No more will she be riding her bike or scootering around the corner to see if she can play a few minutes before dinner is ready. No more will Zoe get to play with S while we are at a soccer game for the evening.

I hate change. I want it all to stop. I want it all back. I don’t want them to go.