I know that I tend towards the melancholy, soul-searching, where-is-my-life-going sorts of stuff on Sunday night, but that is not what I have for you tonight. Nope. Tonight my ex was kind enough to switch the channel from "vague discontent" to "is it really possible that a person could be so smart and yet so lacking in common sense." Be sure to thank him for his (unwitting) efforts when you next see him. Which, for most of you, will be never (and thank your stars for that as well), and for those of you who might happen to run into him, don't bother, because I doubt you could get a word in...
So the kids and I had a fabulous day; we met up with friends and ran some errands at the mall with the merry-go-round. That meant an errand, a ride on the carousel, an errand, ice cream, a couple of errands, a ride on the carousel, and then home again. Not a bad way to spend a day for the six-and-under set. Then we had dinner at our friends' house, came home, had showers, and headed to bed. I am not one to bill myself as the world's greatest mom. I mean, I get the job done. Some days better than others. On certain issues I could use a lot of work. On other issues I may be slightly ahead of...
We have our first Mystery Female update. Chickadee reports that her name is "Inca." I'm guessing it may actually be Inga, but who knows. Sounds mail-order-ish to me, either way. But Chickadee's hair was neatly combed out and beautifully done up--which is quite a change from the nest of snarls it usually is after swimming--so I'm thinking I can get behind this Inca person. I also had a nice laugh at the ex's expense and watched him turn all red because he parked waaaaaaay to the side of my driveway at both pick-up and drop-off, as if that would somehow prevent me from knowing about the...
Two items are rolling around in my brain this rainy morning. First, Chickadee has her first loose top tooth. She's lost three bottom teeth, and as soon as I got used to the adorable little gap, two permanent teeth sprung up and she now looks essentially the same as she did before. (When the third tooth decides to make an appearance is when the fun will begin, as her jaw is tiny and the two teeth already grown in have taken the entire spot left by the three vacancies.) Of the three teeth already lost, she lost one in April, one in May, and one in June. She is determined to lose this tooth in...
I was rather enjoying a long, dragging, tedious day of being trapped inside by the rain with two small cranky beings. Okay, maybe "enjoy" is the wrong word. But I was managing. Then the phone rang this afternoon, and the caller ID informed me that it was the ex. In the middle of the day. On a day when he doesn't see the kids. Uh oh. I answered with great trepidation. Something wrong? Bone to pick? Laid off unexpectedly? (I'm almost afraid to say that last one out loud, so completely screwed would all of our lives be if that were to happen at this point.) "I've been filled in!" he announced...
(Or, "How To Make Something Really Simple Incredibly Complicated.") When I was married, packing the kids for a visit to the in-laws meant locating an appropriate piece of luggage and filling it with clothes and some other stuff. It might've taken half an hour, tops. Now that I'm divorced, packing the kids for a visit to the ex-laws means hyperventilating and thinking about it and hyperventilating some more and weighing the options and finally, arriving at the day before the trip with nothing packed. First Issue: Quality. If I pack their older, "play" clothes, I will be bad-mouthed as the...
During my divorce, just about every item in this house became hotly contested property. His feeling was, the filing cited "irreconcilable differences," the law defaults to a 50/50 split in this case, and he was already behind because I was keeping the house. Therefore, he deserved half the items within the house at a bare minimum, and probably more. My feeling was, I let him leave with both his face and his testicles intact, and he should've said thank you. Well, that, and the small matter of his salary being five times mine, while my household would contain three people and his reduced to...
My dear Chickadee--for a brief period of time--delighted in telling me lies about her time with Daddy, because it frequently (okay; always) evinced a negative reaction and she was looking for some power and control. I thought that phase was finished. Only today, on our way down to Daddy's for their weekly afternoon with him, she started telling me that she never rides in a carseat in Daddy's car anymore, and in fact when they went to the zoo last weekend (a long trip from here, through Boston traffic) they just brought some pillows and blankets and she lay down in the back. I remained...
I know you have been losing sleep ever since I wrote the letter asking for a refund of summer camp deposits for the kids. You have been waiting on pins and needles to know the outcome of this very pressing matter, I know. Well, pace no more! Rest easy. In their infinite wisdom, the association in question has magnaminously decided to refund the overage in the form of a credit on our account. Errrrr... okay. Of course, "our" account is, in fact, the ex's account. This means the cost of swim lessons will now be covered for the next several sessions, and I can maybe recoup some of that money...
