Everyday Math?

I know this "Everyday Math" is all the rage, but seriously, at the end of a long day, why do I have to make sense of 28-10+2 when I'm trying to figure out the answer to 28-8? If you're doing subtraction, you're supposed to be subtracting! 

Breathless

So after leaving work yesterday afternoon, I went home to hang out with the kids for an hour before heading to back-to-school night at my son's pre-school. I make this decision instead of going for a drink before the meeting because I feel some guilt over the fact that I won't see my kids tonight even if the reason I won't see them is a good one (i.e. I'm being a caring, interested parent in the eyes of his school). My husband of course can't make the meeting because he can't get out of work on time and my son needs at least one representative, so of course, it's me!

Within 10 minutes of being at home, Princess starts showing me the "dark princess" costume she really wants for Halloween this year because the princess costume she has from two years ago that she wore once does not look dark and the bratz costume from last year (again, worn once) is a "genie" and she MUST be a dark princess and it's not enough to dye the light princess costume or just buy a black witch hat. So now, I am a witch because I refuse to spend yet another $40 on another costume that will sit in the closet collecting dust. So I leave the house for the meeting with a child who is in tears and distraught over the fact that her mother is a witch who won't make her happy by meeting this very simple request.

This morning, Prince wakes me at 6am because he needs to find his green train. I kid you not, Prince has over 20 trains, many of which are green, but apparently none of trains that we find today meet the criteria. I finally manage to get another 1/2 hour of sleep only to wake up to the news that it's my day to take Prince to school because Hubby has class tonight and mom is volunteering at Princess' school so I accept that I will get to work late. I'm now tired and cranky because I stayed up way too late last night watching the debate and the post-debate analysis - but I get Prince ready and we head out the door to the chant of "I want my green train" and mommy promising to buy this mysterious green train although I have no idea what train is missing! We are now almost at school, when he starts - "No, I want to go back home!" I park the car and when I go to unbuckle Prince, he is standing on the floor with his head buried in the car seat (don't ask). I get him out the car, lift all forty pounds all the way to his classroom, then he starts screaming and crying that he wants to go home. After trying every trick in the book, I eventually leave him screaming (because when all else fails, the trick that works is for mommy to get lost) and head to the office because of course, today is picture day and I forgot the forms at home.

So I pay for the pictures - go to check on Prince who is now lying on the floor looking like the world has come to an end - leave the school close to tears and am now heading to work at 9:30. I'm almost at work when I decide it's time to put on some lipstick so my face does not reflect the horror show that was my life this morning and of course - I have no make-up because I left my handbag in the office at Prince's school. Seriously - I couldn't make this sh*& up if I tried ....

A whole new world

Welcome to my blog - hopefully as I embark on this new adventure, my blog will become much more inviting. For today, my task is simple - get it up and running because apparently there is a whole new world out there that I've been accessing daily, without fully comprehending its breadth.

For the past year, I've been an Obamamama - a political junkie who clicks furiously through the various left leaning blogs to understand every twist and turn that this election has taken ever since Barack Obama announced his candidacy for POTUS. I've slowly learned the lingo of the political blogosphere and I now realize that by the time I get home in the evening, there is nothing that Chris Matthews has to report that I haven't learned already at TPM or the Huffington Post. I also occasionally check out my friends' blogs thinking how on earth do they find the time to add one more thing to their schedules? I mean really - who has the time to diary the insanity that has become our lives just for the heck of it (that word "heck" has taken on new significance these days)?

Then I discovered - this blogging thing may just be worth the investment of time because one of my blogging moms disclosed this juicy nugget - she was given an all expenses paid trip to check out a Disney resort! Now THAT's my language. I love writing and sharing experiences, but the thought of a free vacation in the year when I've taken two all-American vacations by loading my family and food and heading to a nearby shore, is all the motivation I need to get busy. Mind you, the vacations were fun - we headed to Nemacolin (a woodland resort) where the kids got to feed wild animals like bears and tigers and we got some good R&R - and before that we took a trip to the Chesapeake Bay where we flew kites, enjoyed some fresh air and swam in the indoor/outdoor hot tub. But at this point even Princess is at the point where she's like "Mom, can we go on a real vacation ... like when we get on an airplane?"

So, now I just have to find a way to work this into my schedule while trying to maintain my equilibrium - amidst the dropping off at school, picking up from swimming, gymnastics, Kumon or music, attending the myriad school events (bazaars, back to school nights, picnics, etc. etc.) that have now doubled because my son started pre-school this fall, and most of all working so that I can afford to pay the tuition for my kids to go to school (that's a story for another post) and lest I forget the most important thing, trying to stay fit - because I could barely afford to take a vacation this year and unless someone bails me out, next year isn't looking a whole lot better. Stay tuned as I am embark on this journey into a whole new world!