All in a day's work

I'm still in survival mode.

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but still. On Saturday, for instance, I left the house at 11:00 am and returned home around 1:30 am. Yes, I was gone for 13.5 hours. That day consisted of (in this order) tap class, ballet class (with a trip to Starbucks, of course!), auditions for a show Curt and I producing, a friend's 40th birthday party and finally a little thing like a performance in front of a LIVE audience that evening . . . followed by a debrief of our preview weekend over drinks. I'm tired just writing about it.

I was pretty worthless on Sunday. I still managed to get my lazy ass to church with my girls (and yawned through most of it). I went home and promptly took a nap on the couch next to Vivian who was hanging out on pbskids.org on my laptop. Damn. Elmo's voice is annoying. We also had more auditions on Sunday and then began the agonizing task of casting our show over dinner at Grizzly Peak.

So Monday was my first official evening OFF in weeks!!! And boy was I looking forward to it! Only, it wasn't really a day off. I have this knack for filling every idle second of my life with something.

I've been feeling guilty that Curt has hung out at home so much by himself. I told him days ago that he should go out for drinks on Monday night. Unfortunately, his best buddy is usually not available until later in the evening and by that time of the night, Curt turns into a frog or something because he hates to get started that late. So . . . drinks turned into just a happy hour after work. But then there was Monday night football so he had to go watch the 1st Qtr at least. But I digress . . . he was home around 9:30ish. Not too shabby.

I had the extreme pleasure of taking Audrey to the first religion class of the season AND her first Girl Scout meeting of the year. That meant I had to leave work and drive back to our neighborhood to pick Audrey up, then drive back downtown to our church. We sat through a parent meeting before Audrey went to her classroom. That allowed me only enough time to go pick up Vivian from daycare. We shuttled back to church to pick up Audrey when I realized I should probably FEED my children before we head to the next thing.

Quick trip to Wendy's.

Vivian was devastated when I packed up her food before she was finished because we had to GO! Nevermind that she spent what seemed like an eternity peeling the paper from her straw and then playing with her milk. [Mind you, the ONLY reason we didn't just eat in the car in the first place was because Audrey had to go POTTY!! Of COURSE! Also nevermind that I had asked her to go before we left religion class. Oiy!]

We get to Girl Scouts and it's totally mentally taxing for me. I had to sit through yet another meeting and then fill out paperwork and write them a check. Paperwork? Really? Do you really need to have my insurance information and my work phone number? I did meet some nice moms there so I guess it wasn't a total bust. They also had some great snacks.

We finally get home shortly before 8:00 pm and I cracked open Audrey's backpack (being Monday and all -- that's when all the good stuff comes home.) Yikes! This is her first week of real homework. Shit.

Audrey has to practice spelling words, read for 15 min., complete a math worksheet and write a book report. WTF??? A book report???

Now, I have the dilemma of WHEN we're going to squeeze this in . . . before or after her bath. I decided to go for before since she was still pretty pumped about Girl Scouts. We got right into it.

Needless to say, everything was backed up a bit last night (Why oh why did I say Curt could go out for a drink??) We finally got the homework done, baths complete, teeth brushed and everyone in jammies (including myself). This would also be a good time to mention that I also cleaned the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher AND threw a load of laundry in.

So . . . I'm ready to sit down . . . otherwise known as collapse . . . on the couch and watch a little bit of "Dancing with the Stars." Vivian likes to "watch dancing" with me so I figured it would be good to cuddle on the couch for a bit. It's late, but what the hell. Audrey was at least tucked in and all set.

We watch literally 5 minutes when guess who comes home?

His first words to me were, "What is she doing up? You know, she never stays up this late when you're not here."

ARGGGHHHH!!!!!

Curt was all smiles and happy, but still.

A little joy today

A few milestones need to be mentioned.

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Audrey walked to school almost by herself today. She has been begging to do it and we've been talking about the route she needs to take and she seems confident that she can handle it.

However, I was still surprised this morning when Curt asked Audrey if she wanted to walk to school today while he road alongside her in the car. Of course she said YES!!!

So, I watched my little girl with her pink backpack literally skip down the sidewalk while my husband drove very slowly along the curb. Too cute! [Although, I must admit I was nervous. I called Curt twice on his cell phone.] I guess she reached the "hole" in the fence area near the school and waved him off as if to say, "I've got it now. You can go."

I can't wait to ask her about it after school today.

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Vivian's favorite night-time stories these days are a collection of mini-Disney books that have been around since Audrey was her age (thanks to a birthday or Christmas gift from her diaper buddy, Nicolas).

Curt captured Vivian reading 101 Dalmations (her current favorite).

Here are Curt's notes on his Youtube account, so you can follow along:

1) Pong and Perdita are dalmations

2) Their pupplies like to watch television (Vivian adds, "Do you like to watch television? OK")

3) Cruella de Vil steals the puppies.

4) Pongo and Perdita ask the colonel for help.

5) Tibs and some friends rescue the puppies.

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We have been hard-hit with illnesses among family members and friends this past week, so life has been a bit rocky lately. It's these little but joyous moments that keep us going.

Thank God for them.

Bad girl

There are three women in our household and one lone man. One of the girls had an attitude this weekend and was a beeATCH. Can you guess which one?

Since the two littlest girls were at a sleepover for most of the weekend . . . I'm going to go with . . . ME.

Oops.

Sorry, honey.

Ahhh . . . School Fundraisers!

Audrey has brought home her first-time-this-year school fundraiser. Do kids ever do these things on their own? I guess they do since I'm suckered by more than one book order or popcorn box or gift wrapping paper fundraiser that comes knocking at my door.

The PTO is planning to purchase new playground equipment for the school and I think that's a lofty goal. Her school has a newly renovated pool, flat screen computers in every room, new flooring, a HUGE media center -- the works -- but the playground equipment is a pretty sad sight. Broken swings and a few climby things.

My coworkers have already been tormented by me so now the two people that read this blog get the same treatment.

If you want to help out, you can view the fundraiser on-line. Orders must be completed by September 23rd.

If you could be so kind as to keep in mind the following so Audrey can get the Nintendo DS she's dreaming for, she'll be ever so happy. I'm kidding . . . she'll love the Hannah Montana pencil that all participating students receive. There's something about a Pig Race in there. I guess top-selling classrooms take part in a pig race? Can anyone tell me what that's about??

Anyhoo . . . .

School code/ID: 3024-
Child's name: Audrey Waugh
Teacher: Ms. Miller
Grade: 1

http://frankenmuthfundraising.com/

Thanks for even considering it!!

Take care and goodnight.

How the Other Half Loves

So . . . uh . . . yeah. I've been a little busy lately.

I decided to get involved in a show. It sort of came to me, actually, I didn't go looking for it.

I was flattered when the director asked me to read for a part and then told me that he didn't really have anyone else in mind and would I take it? Oh really?? How could I refuse? Couple that with the fact that I absolutely ADORE the other cast members and the rehearsal period was just three weeks long . . . well, it seemed like an easy decision.

However, things haven't always been so easy throughout the process.

I need to remember that it really sucks being involved in a show at the start of the school year. I did manage to spend a lot of time with Audrey . . . going to her 1st grade orientation and walking her into the building the first full week of school . . . but I still feel like I'm missing out on something. Not sure what, but there must be something.

But kids are resilient. They haven't complained one bit. I think the person who has been hardest hit is Curt.

He's been Mr. Mom these past couple of weeks and he's been great about it. I know he's bored out of his mind and his patience is thinner than the thinnest thread at the moment . . . but he deserves a ton of praise.

The other night Vivian bawled for over 30 minutes straight. About something stupid. I wasn't there but it had something to do with washing her hands. I'm sure she wanted to do it "by myself." [Awww . . . remember when she used to say "me do it?" I do.] I even heard her cries over the phone when I called on my break. Curt decided to just let her go until she could get over herself. She's a tenacious one, though. She can hang with the best of them. I guess she managed to pull herself together eventually and take a bath. Thank goodness Audrey was a relative angel that night.

Although the next morning, Audrey gave us a good showing. She was in TEARS because the school lunch for the day was ravioli. And didn't we realize that she DOESN'T . . . LIKE . . . RAVIOLI??!!! This of course happened at the precise time we were loading into cars to head out (already about 10 min. behind mind you). I threw a granola bar in her backpack and told her to eat that along with the roll, green beans and milk that came with the ravioli and she would be fine. No go.

I won't go into detail but the next few moments involved more tantrum-like activity, some raised voices, a brief time-out and Mommy throwing together a packed lunch while Daddy stood there perplexed that I was giving in to her tantrum. I didn't give in, you see. She promised she would eat the hot lunch tomorrow, she apologized for her behavior and she lost her allowance for this week (unless she can figure out a way to earn it back). My goal was to try to keep the peace so that we could all get out of the house and go on with our day.

But I digress.

My point of all this is that Curt and I have totally different styles. And usually, I'm around to be the buffer. I can't help but think that the girls are getting an incredible service done to them by spending this much time with their Daddy. I know it's WAY more one-on-one time than I ever got with my own Dad. It's a beautiful thing. And Curt is a GREAT Dad. So . . . I'm doing them a favor giving them this time together without my influence. Right? RIGHT??? [Please say I'm right . . . please. Shut up.]

So, I'm doing this show and it's a real hoot. The cast is terrific and I get to take out all of my frustrations of the world on my show husband. I literally attack him with a soup ladle and stick his head in a sink full of water . . . among other things. Just like a typical evening in the Waugh household. Ha.

I will be happy when the rehearsals are over and I get my weeknight evenings back again. I DO miss them.

And how did Audrey's lunch go, you ask?? Well, it turns out that after seeing the hot lunch that day, Audrey DOES like Ravioli. "I was thinking about something else," was her remark to me.

Oiy!

Another weekend behind us

They're just whipping by, aren't they???

Oh? You're not traveling every weekend? Oh . . . silly me. I thought everyone was doing it. We just keep ignoring the gas spikes and chug, chug, chug along.

Actually, we had a ton of fun this weekend. The weather was GORGEOUS in Ohio (if you didn't mind the hurricane-effect winds)! And although we got some much-needed rain in Michigan over the weekend, I was happy to escape it and get out of town.

I forgot to bring my camera so I have no documentation, but we hung out with my family for an annual soup cook contest. It was held at my nephew Jason's house who lives out in the country. The weekend consisted of drinking, eating, giving kids rides in the golf cart, more drinking, Curt swimming in the neighbor's pond, lots of variations on vegetable soup (all of which had MEAT in them), the kids playing in the truck and staying up WAY too late, campfires and horrible football (both UofM and OSU lost).

On Sunday morning, we helped clean up the aftermath from the party over coffee and egg casseroles. Thanks Jason and Angie!

Our small clan headed back to Michigan to get in on some of that rain action. But it was a perfect way to end the weekend. I loved being cocooned in my house while it rained outside. I drank some wine while I made chicken piccata for dinner. We put the girls to bed and watched Saturday Night Live on the DVR. [That first skit was hilarious . . . it went downhill from there.]

Is it true? I actually RELAXED this weekend???!!!! It was awesome.

Can I get a Do Over?

I'm having one of those days. Nothing earth-shattering. Everyone is healthy, we've got our jobs, cars and lots of abundances but I'm . . . in a word . . . melancholy.

It just so happens that it's September 11th. Could that have anything to do with it?

Audrey told me yesterday that she had to wear red, white and blue to school today because there was a "war" on this day. That brought on a discussion about the actual events and it shocked me that I had never actually discussed it with her and there I was telling her about it. She was born in 2002. To her, Sept. 11th will always be what it is today. There was no "before."

There are so many times I wish I had a "Do Over" or "Rewind" button. Oh . . . how cool that would be. Sometimes, I just need it for a few minutes . . . Let me take back what I just said . . . And sometimes longer than that.

If I had the opportunity, just how far back would I rewind to make things right again? A year or two or seven?

Of course, it wouldn't do me any good to rewind if I couldn't take the knowledge I have with me today back there. Without knowing what I know now, I would probably make the same damn mistakes and follow the same damn path.

So . . . having said that, I guess there's no need to look back, is there? I'm smarter and wiser today because of where I've been. Perhaps these are just growing pains I'm feeling today then. Awww . . . that makes me think of my mom. Every ache or pain was explained away by growing pains. What a mysterious thing they are!

Yeah, well . . . they can go away now. I was never a fan.

I have lots of things to be thankful and happy about. And just to remind myself, here are just a few highlights:

• Audrey went into school all by herself today. I've been driving her there all week and today was the first day that she confidently didn't need me to hold her hand all the way down the hall.


• Vivian sings "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" out of the blue sometimes. She misuses words all of the time in a funny way. This morning, she needed help putting her socks on (after trying to do it "by myself"). She then said, "Mommy, can you do this yourself?"


• Curt is holding down the fort while I'm at rehearsals every night (man . . . more on that later). I come home to a clean kitchen and clean kids and a husband who's happy to see me.


• I have loads of friends that I miss seeing (also because of said rehearsals and busy weekends). I haven't seen them . . . but hey, I have friends!


• I love my family and extended family.

Okay . . . I'm cool now. Thanks for listening.

Guess you better slow your Mustang down

We had another exhausting weekend. They just keep coming . . . one right after another. I'm really craving a relaxing, boring weekend full of absolutely nothing to do. [Including having all of the laundry done and the house immaculately clean. Yeah. That would be so nice. Dream on.]

My nephew, Josh, got married over the weekend. [Yes, another wedding for another nephew.] It was a beautiful wedding with a beautiful bride and an absolutely beautiful day.

I managed to hack my way through singing the wedding ceremony. This was no small feat due to the fact that I've been coughing non-stop for two weeks and completely lost my voice the week prior. And for some reason we Catholics really like to sing a concert at these weddings. On the itinerary were little ditties like Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria, Bridal Prayer, plus an enormous amount of hymns and Mass pieces. I chugged water like a fish and gargled what I like to call the "Katie Hoag special" during the ceremony. [Thanks Katie - I know you're reading. It helped!]

I missed most of the rehearsal dinner/party because I went to bed early to avoid talking and socializing. At least Curt got to enjoy himself a bit. He was none-too-pleased that I dragged him out of work early on yet another Friday afternoon. However, he managed to continue working on his Blackberry while driving down I-75. Everybody wins.

I made up for Friday night by enjoying myself at the wedding on Saturday night. Thank GOODNESS! Vivian took a nap in my lap for a bit so she was golden for the rest of the night and danced up a storm. Audrey fell asleep on Curt's lap eventually and then we transferred her to some cushy chairs to rest while we continued with the reception. Yeah, just call us "Parents of the Year."

I can post some photos as soon as I have a spare minute in the next month or so . . . but we did manage to capture this video of Curt singing at the reception. Josh wanted Uncle Curt to sing Mustang Sally just because he wanted Curt to sing it. It really has nothing to do with marriage or love or couples or anything. I guess somebody buys somebody a car. Is that what it's about? I dunno. I think the band was a little surprised by just how GOOD Uncle Curt was. They weren't expecting that.

Watch how all the little kiddos jump up on stage with their plastic guitars that the band handed out. SO cute! Vivian's strutting her stuff and Audrey gets to sing "Ride Sally Ride."

So stylish . . . really?

I took Audrey to school again on Friday for her second day.

As we were walking to the car, she said (in a sort of disdainful way), "Mommy, why are you always so stylish?"

Her remark surprised me, but I suddenly felt very beautiful in my work clothes.

Thanks Audrey!

On the first day . . .

Yesterday was the first day of school for Audrey. Her first day of first grade!

Why do Mom's get more emotional than kids about these things? Sure . . . I walked down the halls of Audrey's newly renovated school (which was not quite ready for occupancy but the calendar waits for no one) and saw tears in more than just a few kids' eyes. I even witnessed what must have been a 3rd grade girl absolutely refusing to go into her classroom. She was out in the hall crying alongside a teacher of some sort who was trying to coax her to "just take five steps and we'll be there. Come on. Take five big steps with me." This girl was NOT budging. I tried not to stare as I walked by but I was fascinated.

But I also saw lots of Moms and Dads who were holding hands with their kids, reassuring them, pointing the way, asking lots of questions. "See that little girl over there? Do you want to sit by her? Are you sure you want to sit here by yourself?" So, yeah . . . I was in this category. I know it well.

Turns out, Audrey was very brave. I totally underestimated her. She can turn on the shy factor so much sometimes that I just come to expect it in these situations. I didn't need to yesterday. She was fine. Nervous . . . but fine. She was braced and ready.

She has a beautiful and sweet teacher named Ms. Miller. She seems very nice. She was wearing a pink sweater over her sundress. Audrey liked that.

I hung around awhile for breakfast and a parent orientation (the kids were entertained by a magician during the orientation) and then we all went to the classroom together. We said our goodbyes and I was literally the last parent to leave the room. [That's when I witnessed the scene described above in the hallway] . I waved goodbye to Audrey one last time. Is she going to cry? It looks like she's going to cry. I told myself.

I left work an hour early yesterday so I could "rescue" Audrey from what I expected to be a day of torture for her. I came bounding into the rec room where the aftercare program is held, ready to save the day for Audrey. She saw me and burst into tears.

Oh my. The day must have been more than she could bear and seeing me must have made her break down. I gave her a big hug and asked her what was wrong.

"I don't want to leave!" was the response I got.

Oh. Not what I expected! I guess first grade is pretty cool after all.

Blast from the past and back again

A couple of years ago when Audrey and her diaper buddy Nicolas were hovering around two years old, their parents took them to the Toledo Zoo on a rainy day. They were particularly fond of sitting in this cracked egg in the Aviary. Something about it made them literally "scream" with delight as shown here.


Fast forward a few years. Our diaper buddies are now school-age and we're back at the zoo. The families took the kids to the Toledo Zoo last Friday before Labor Day.

I thought it would be a hoot to replicate this egg picture again. This cracks me up (hee hee . . . get it??)
And to add to the silliness, here are the two year olds posing in the same egg. This is the best shot we could get of Noah/Nowen/Owen (Vivian is too busy to remember his real name. Perhaps it's because she herself has about five names . . . Vivian, Vivi, Viv, Vivvers, Bibbles). He wasn't very thrilled about being stuck in the egg with little-miss-can't-remember-my-name.

But we think it's cute as hell.

And here's a picture of little Luke and . . . uh . . . oops. We ran out of little girls.