Happy News!

That last post was way too depressing, so here's something less traumatic.

I GOT TICKETS TO THE U2/MUSE CONCERT IN TAMPA FOR OCTOBER 9TH!!!!!

Is that happy enough news? I thought so. I am way excited. Kalin is way excited. John is sort of excited--but not about the amount of money I spent. I bought an extra ticket for a friend of Kalin's but she might not be able to pay for it, so I might have to find someone to take with us. Anyone interested????

Bad Mommy!

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that the next 4 hours were going to be so traumatic.

5 AM: Get up to take Kalin to Seminary. Got his food and medications out, big glass of orange juice. All going well.

5:15 AM Go out to the car--the battery is dead. We assume it's from the boys leaving the lights on last night from reading in the car. Kalin thought he had turned them off, but something was still on. Dang! Good thing we have the little Chevy S10 to drive!

5:30 AM Get to the church. I notice that the sister whom I thought was going to take the kids to school after church isn't there with her van. My little truck fits 2 1/2 people (a very small middle seat). Fortunately, one of the guys notices I don't have a big vehicle and says he'll stay and take them--after he gives me a guilt trip about him not getting home until 2:30 the night before. I promised to do his 'shift' tomorrow.

7 AM Laid down for an hour after getting back from the church. Get a phone call from the neighbor girl who's life is a constant disaster. She missed her bus and needs a ride to school--8 miles away near our church. I rush out the door so I will still have time to get my kids ready. Back by...

7:45 AM Come back to the house to find out my piano student was on his way--but then find out he already came and missed me while I was taking said neighbor. No one heard him at the door. Great. So I still have time to get Sadie ready for her bus at 8:25 AM. Got lunches made, breakfast put together (they like HOT COCOA--I don't get it either), and go to get Sadie dressed. She doesn't seem to know how to do it herself.

8:15 AM The boys are dressed and have eaten breakfast. Sadie won't touch her food or her cocoa. She claims she is sick. I get the thermometer. No fever. Nothing seems to be wrong. She finally says she doesn't want to go because there's a test. We studied for it the night before and she knew it backwards and forwards. No worries! WRONG! Big worries in that little head of hers. I repeat over and over not to worry and that it's not a good reason to miss school. I start to get her dressed. The kicking and screaming commences. The spanking and grabbing flailing limbs also commences. The brothers are watching in horrified silence. She's finally dressed, but won't stand up, so I give Patrick the backpack and I grab the unwilling diva and go out to the truck.

8:45 AM We drive to school in silence with little tears trickling down her face. We get in the drop-off line and I try to touch her. She's still a little mad, so I tell her I love her and I'm sorry I hurt her feelings. She lets me give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she gets out. I start bawling on the way home. And it just keeps going. At least Patrick and Alex made the bus while I was taking her to school. I got the car charged up again, so everything is back to normal...or is it???

Not Moving

Oh, by the way, we are not moving to Orlando this month like we were anticipating. It has to do with mortgages, bankruptcies, foreclosure laws, and fun stuff like that. Gotta love this economy! And other things in life that make it interesting. If things change, we'll let you know, but right now we're staying put. I think the kids are happy about it, but they would have been good either way. Except Kalin who just wants to live in Utah. Poor boy!

Orlando Trip

We went to Orlando last week and spent 2 days at Sea World. Lots of fun! They have a new roller coaster called 'Manta' and Patrick actually went on it twice! So did I, for that matter. It was really cool. When you get on, you sit in an upright position, but before the ride starts, the seats are tipped horizontally so you're facing the ground! Yes, it sounds a little scary and it did feel different than a regular roller coaster, but it was actually nicer in a way--the G-forces on your body are not as strong in that position. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

On Thursday afternoon while we were there, a huge thunderstorm settled in over us at Sea World and we got completely soaked. There wasn't anywhere near us to wait inside and keep dry. It wasn't cold, so we were okay, and the boys all jumped in puddles and had a great time. As soon as it was done, we went to one more show then decided we wouldn't be able to dry out before dark. It makes me glad we got the annual pass so we can go back a lot this year. Our pass also gets us into Busch Gardens in Tampa, so that will be fun, too.

Pictures coming soon!

Road Rage? In Florida? No way!

Wow. I've had some close calls, but today was the most intense incident of road rage I've personally witnessed. Okay, maybe I was a little bit involved and a little bit responsible, but I think that guy WAAAAAYYYYY overreacted. Now, I think I have a little bit of driving savvy when it comes to maneuvering through traffic. I was using said savvy in front of a young man (I would say mid 20s) who thought he had more savvy than I do. I was moving through slower traffic and kind of leading him through it, too. Well, I guess he didn't appreciate it because as I was changing lanes, I noticed he had already started over as I moved. But I was already going and he'd been behind me for a while. Well, he accelerated around me ON THE SHOULDER and moves in front of me. I couldn't see him until he was almost all the way around me. I was startled, to say the least, so I honked at him for being reckless. I guess I honked too long, so he slammed his brakes, accelerated, braked again, several times until we came to a complete stop! In the middle of a main road with a speed limit of 55! As soon as there was room to go around him in the other lane, I move over and he speeds up, cuts me off and slams his brakes again! By then, I was really freaked out, but he took off and I slowed way down and turned off the road to a store. Aaaaaaahhhhhh! And I had 3 of my kids with me! I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks all. Someday I'll recover from 'the incident.'

Crazy Summer

I can't believe how crazy this summer is turning out to be. In my last blog, I said we were house hunting. Well, we are no longer house hunting. Yes, that's right, no house hunting. Our mortgage company decided they wanted to work with us. We had to declare bankruptcy a few months ago (John's company in Utah was mismanaged--long story) and included the house. We were just going to walk away (happily, too) and make the move to Orlando (that still feels so right). But now we have to wait to see if they accept our terms. It's such a mess. We may end up staying after all, but it's not my favorite option. We are just in limbo. I can't plan, and I have to make plans so I don't go crazy!

The 2 older boys had scout camp this past week, but it was a disaster. The poor YM leaders (who have only been leaders since the ward was rejoined) had to try and pull it all together in mere weeks because the guy supposedly making plans didn't. Also, none of them were scouts as youth or have ever participated in scouts before--they are all fairly recent converts. Not a nice thing to do to them. Kalin was coming home early to fly out to Utah with John anyway, but we had Alex come back, too. They were bug bitten and Alex got stung by a yellow jacket. His right hand was so swollen and still is (but going down) after 4 days. They weren't really doing any merit badges anyway, so it was better for them to come home. John is the scout representative for the stake, but the previous leaders had told the stake to "butt out" and not help. It's a strange situation but hopefully won't be so bad now that the leaders have changed. Just give it time. This situation was another reason Orlando was looking so good--better for the kids as far as church activities go.

John and Kalin left for Utah on Thursday night so they've had a couple of days of fun (I hope). I'm so sad we can't all go to Utah. It was in the plans, but then the bankruptcy bit us in the behind, plus plans to move (that are now on hold--grrrr!), and needing to save up for a down payment, etc. I just feel like I can never plan or count on anything to happen the way I want it to. Sometimes I just want to scream! I won't, but maybe internally I will.

Oh, that leads me to the latest craziness. Because we were moving to Orlando and I already notified the charter school that Sadie and Patrick wouldn't be attending next year, I didn't register them for the regular school district. Now that everything is up in the air, I've had to register, but it's after the initial placement time. I'll have to explain the insanity of this school district for you to understand. This district has what is called 'School Choice.' I call it the 'School Lottery.' When you sign up, you have to assign each school a number indicating your preferences 1 to however many schools there are. Then, they decide which school to put you in according to preference and availability. This means that students from one side of the area could be bussed to a school 15 miles away. You have a better chance of getting the school you want if you have all the paperwork in before the first placement due date. Well, I missed the first AND second placement dates, so guess what? Patrick isn't in the same school as Alex (we will be fighting that one) but Sadie actually got into our 2nd choice school. Like I said, a lottery. Neighborhood kids all go to different schools so they don't know each other and there are thousands of buses (it seems like it anyway) carting kids all over the Cape. The buses aren't even full! What a waste! Another reason we want to move to Orlando. Unfortunately, I think the entire state of Florida has a bad education system, but Orlando would be better than here. If only I wasn't such a basket case I would do home schooling.

Okay, that's all off my chest. Now I just have to write a talk for sacrament meeting tomorrow with the topic of personal trials and how to overcome them. Thanks, bishop.

House Hunting

I drove up to Orlando today to look at houses with John and have a date overnighter. I can't believe I actually don't feel nervous leaving my kids home alone! This is the first time without an adult staying with them. Am I wrong leaving a 16 year old in charge? I really do trust Kalin to do the right thing, even though the boys think he's a tyrant. And in an emergency, he can drive and we have church members living relatively close to us to help out.

As for the houses we looked at, there were 3 I could see myself living in. The last one was huge! Everyone's 'junk' would fit and more! It has the perfect room for an office, too. Everyone would have their own room again. It wasn't super fancy (cheap bathroom fixtures) but I'm used to that. And a community pool, tennis court, and playground. Oooh, I hope, I hope! We're going out again tomorrow (Saturday) to look at some more, so we'll see... The only problem we're facing now is where to put the boat. They don't allow them in these neighborhoods, so we either sell or store. I hate that!