Kansas City...Kansas City here we...

We came. We went.

Know what's worse than traveling with a 3 year old for 3 hours? Traveling with a 3 year old with allergies for 3 hours. Poor thing. We loaded up my daughter into the mini-van early Saturday morning, then drove the 4 blocks to my sister's house. We then helped her load up a 3 year old, an 8 month old, and her assorted strollers, coolers, etc. (Her hubby is working out of St. Louis right now, so he was meeting us in KC and then sister was following him back to spend a few weeks with him and the kids).

We drive. I-35 is really not all that interesting. I tried to enjoy the scenery, but to no avail. I wasn't in the mood. So I pulled out my book and read. All the while, little feet pushing into my back (daughter is strapped in behind me) and little sneezes are coming from within her.

We reach our hotel with no problems (except I'm pretty sure there was an easier way to get there than the internet directions we got). We waited for brother-in-law to show and then checked in. Two separate rooms THANK GOODNESS. Can you imagine TWO 3 year olds in one room all night? Ugh!

Why did we do all of this, you might ask? We were taking the kids to....duh duh duh....Worlds of Fun. The best part? It rained all the way down and was pouring when we got there. Great start. We watch the weather for a while. It doesn't look good. We don't want to take little ones in the rain. Not good parenting. An 8 month old? She'd be miserable.

So we go to lunch. At one point, I turn to brother-in-law and say, "If we drove all the way to Kansas City to go out to eat, I'm gonna be so mad." What did you do this weekend? Me? Oh I drove to Kansas City to eat. Seriously.

After lunch (an interesting task with two toddlers and a baby), we go outside. Still raining. We head back to the hotel rooms. These were great rooms, by the way, at the Hyatt Place. Great hotel. We're usually an econo-lodge kind of family but the rooms were about the same price, so what the heck? We wait. I look outside. Not sun...but not rain either. Let's go!

So we drive to Worlds of Fun. We get lost. I was the navigator. Woops.

The kids had a BLAST. We rode motorcycles and lady bugs and a school bus and all kinds of things. A good time was had by all. I only had to get into it with one employee. Let's just say if you don't like kids and you would rather talk on your cell phone and do your hair and make-up, maybe working the kiddie part of an amusement park isn't for you. (it was bigger than that--my kid almost got hurt because of her, but my blood pressure is going up just mentioning it so i'll let it go).

We ate candy, we won teddy bears. Kids were happy. All in all, great trip. Minimal problems...weather and evil employees aside. Oh and guess what? I have no pics yet. Someone (ummm...me) forgot the digital camera, so we had to get a disposable and they're not ready yet. Did I mention woops? (Why is it always mom who forgets things and does things wrong?)

Oh yeah...cuz we have everything to do :)

Gearing Up...

It's mid-July.

I'm a bit depressed.

Wanna know why?

School starts in just over a month.

Lesson plans, endless in-service meetings that get us nowhere, going from un-airconditioned room to unairconditioned room (I don't have a class room, I have to take over other peoples' rooms when they are on their prep. period). Ugh.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job teaching 10th grade English. I'm good at it. It's the first time in my life I really feel like I'm GOOD at something. But I have to be honest, I don't want to go back in August. It's the same every year.

It's so hard gearing up after time away. Yes, I worked another job this summer (2 if you count teaching summer school for 2 weeks), but bartending wasn't every day and I still had DOWN TIME. Ok, not down time in the real sense. But at least I got to take my daughter to school every day and got to take her swimming and stuff like that. Now, I'll be on someone else's schedule all the time, I'll hardly see my family, and let's face it...I'm just TIRED.

This doesn't make one excited about endless meetings, hard to work with colleagues, or organizing Freshman Orientation which I still have to do in the next 3 weeks.

The answer? Suck it up. I gotta do it. And really, once I'm with the kids and doing my thing, it's okay. I guess schools need to stop having these 3-4 days of meetings before the kids come, because it just sets a bad tone.

How much you wanna bet we can never change THAT? Thank you No Child Left Behind for adding so many meetings and in-services.

Do Unto Others

Sometimes, trying to find the time and energy to do something for someone else can be tough. At times, you moms especially, we feel like, "Can't someone do something for me???" So today's challenge is to go do something for yourself. Even if it's as small as going OUT for a cup of coffee (don't worry if you have no one to go with...I do this alone with a good book). If you're cheap and pinching pennies like me, take two bucks to Goodwill or Dollar General and buy something silly or a fabulous scented candle. Dollar General actually has some GREAT cherry and applie pie candles right now.

C'mon, moms--do for yourself. Then tell me all about it!

You know what Wednesday means

This week, I'd like you to give The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom a try. This book will really make you look at your life, the good and bad, and put it into perspective. I recently recommended it to one of my high school students and she returned it to me with a note, "You HAVE to tell other people to read this book...it is amazing!!" It's a very quick read, but powerful.

How'd y'all do with the Anita Shreve book?

Oof! Damn that keyboard!

I tripped over it once again...the red hard plastic musical keyboard with like four piano keys on it. I put it away, ticked off that I have now hit my sore toe...again. Then I think, "Why put this one away when twenty more toys are on the floor?" I know this should be my motivator to pick up all the toys. Then I sigh, get a glass of iced tea and remind myself that in ten minutes, they'll all be back out on the floor again. At least, I guess, I'm not tripping over the 1273 animals we have because my daughter is obsessed. I'm pretty sure 881 of those are horses.

Whenever I pictured my future home (when I was younger), I never pictured living in a house that looks like dorm room because why spend money on anything nice when it's just going to be trashed in no time.

I guess this doesn't help explain the dishes I need to do or the laundry that's piling up.

Guess you know what I'm doing today, don't you? Wish me luck!

Independence Day

Fourth of July fun? Yeah it was okay. Our town parade lasts entirely too long--I mean, when there is only one new car dealership in town, do they really need to have like 15 new cars in the parade doing nothing other than being a new a car? And I'm all for churches and politicians alike having their floats and passing out candy...but do not pass out your literature to me. I'm trying to enjoy the morning with my daughter, getting candy and clapping at the high school band...not trying to be saved or swayed to vote. There's a time and a place.

But here's the kicker of the day...

We're with a large group at the parade---I'd say 20 adults, give or take a few, and probably 7 or 8 little ones. I was very proud of the little ones, too. They made sure that everyone got candy and shared things very nicely, even making sure kids who weren't in our party were getting things too. When my daughter saw the first batch of candy being thrown out, she thought they dropped it and exclaimed, "Oh Noooooo!" It was super cute.

About 10 minutes into the parade, an 18 year old who just graduated from high school came to sit with his folks that were beside us. Great. Family time. Good for you. But said 18 year old dashed for all the candy and Frisbees and stuff. C'mon. An 18 year old??? Are you kidding me?

After about 10 minutes of it (and in these ten minutes, I'm watching all the adults around us get madder and madder and the kids get sadder and sadder), I parked my fat butt up beside him and beat him to the punch. Then I'd throw it down in front of our group of kids and let them have at it, and again...they shared not only with each other but with other kids who were getting beaten out BY AN EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD. I don't know which was worse...the 18 year old doing it or the parents of said 18 year old who didn't think anything of it.

I teach high school. And ya know, I gotta tell you...I'm afraid. Very afraid. Not for me. For our future. Not because "all kids are so bad." I'm afraid because of the sense of entitlement. I see it every single day. I'm afraid for how they've been taught to "stick up for themselves." Being assertive when necessary is one thing, but they think if they don't like how something is going, they have a "right" to fight against it. Sometimes in life, you just have to do accept and do. At school, I hear all the time, "it's my right to..."

My reply....

"You, my dear, are a minor. You have a right to a free education and right to not be abused. These are your ONLY rights."

Usually it works. But then they turn 18 and fall right back into, "my rights."

Well, I'll worry about your rights when you can't hold a job because you're so busy arguing with bosses over "your rights."

Doing for others Thursday

Today's very simple. I'm taking a huge bag of clothes and a huge box of toys to our local junk shop. (Cross Ministries--it's like Goodwill, but run by a group of churches or something). It helps them with inventory and helps me get rid of the clothes that I'm fooling myself into thinking I'll fit into again...plus they're really cute so someone will buy them! :)

Go ahead, folks. Clean out the closets. Go to Goodwill, drop them off. It's nice to clear out the clutter!