D.A.D. frustrations

excuse me while i vent.

my son's dad is such a jackass.

three months ago i began informing him of a special event at our son's school that was held yesterday morning. all the dad's were invited to come early and have breakfast with their kids.

last week i sent him three email reminders and called at least twice to make sure he would be able to make it. monday night i called with one final reminder. of course he had forgotten, with the excuse "i have people coming in the morning anyway so i wouldn't have been able to make it."

typical planning failure on his part.

so, after making him feel like the scum of the earth (which has been my role for the past five years) ... he agrees that he should make the event with z.

he shows up to pick z up at 7:15, the event begins at 7:30. With plenty of time to make it, he decides to doddle.

doddling, that's what i call it. he is an expert doddler. our entire eight years together, we've never been anywhere on time... because just as we're heading out the door the doddling begins. it is the most frustrating i've ever experienced.

so tuesday morning he comes in, spends about ten minutes in the bathroom, then heads to the back yard to smoke a cigarette and make a phone call. for at least twenty minutes z and i wait by the door, back pack in tow and coat on... just waiting.

meanwhile the stress and anxiety is building in me.... i can actually feel it bubbling up my spine.

finally... they load in the car. with the car running and z all buckled up, he stands outside for another cigarette break then finally off they go.

i pick up z from school and ask how "donuts with dad" went?

z: "it made me sad, we didn't get to eat any donuts."

m: "um... what??"

z: "they ate all the donuts before we got there"

m: "oh, i'm sorry baby, what did you eat?"

z: "nothing, daddy just took me to my classroom"

so... we made a stop by krispy kream for some donuts with mom time.

later i called his dad to find out what the crap went on. apparently they got there 35 minutes late to a 30 minute event. typical.

also typical was the response from a man incapable of owing responsibility for anything.... "well if they had provided enough donuts there wouldn't have been a problem. who has something like this without enough food?"

and he wonders why i begin reminding him of things months in advance. i wonder too now... it obviously does no good.

sigh

thanks for listening

i fell in love with a turtle today

last year i picked up z from school to find out that one of the kid's in his classroom had brought a baby turtle for show-and-tell. this was very exciting for me, as i've always been partial to turtles, i just think they are so darn cute... so i asked z what he thought about it.

z: "i didn't like it at all"

m: "why not, mommy loves turtles"

z: "i like turtles too, but *boys name withheld* said he didn't like me and i couldn't see his turtle."

well, i couldn't stand for that, so we drove all over town and bought not one, but two of our own turtles. z named them after his two best friends, jax and gracie.

owning turtles will quickly change your fondness for them, i've learned. i despise cleaning the turtle tank.

requiring all the necessary reptilian items, such as a heat lamp and sun-bathing dock... as well as all the aquatic items such as a filter and tank and rocks and water... ect... is quite the undertaking. additionally, they make one heck of a mess and the tank must be drained and cleaned often.. or else the "turtle sludge" builds up. they are not real interactive pets, because they carry salmonella, so it's not often that we hold them.

this morning, i decided to clean the tank, which was long overdue. in fact, the turtles have grown so much since their last cleaning, that they wouldn't even fit in the container i used to hold them during the last cleaning.

anyway... after about an hour the tank was clean and sparkly and ready for the turtles. i always give them a good rinsing before putting them back in the tank. gracie, the red eared slider, has always been very, very shy. she hides and during her bath is completely pulled into her shell.

jax, a yellow painted turtle, was originally smaller than gracie and is now almost twice her size. he is my new little love. he stretched out during his bath and let me rinse and pet his tiny little arms and legs. i rubbed his shell and when i patted his head, he gave me a little love squeak. just too cute, really. he's adorable. i can't wait for z to get home and we can spend some time playing with jax the turtle.

so... he's human afterall

i decided to put aside my disdain for barack obama today and watch the presidential inauguration. the feeling i'm left with is bitter-sweet.

i've come to the realization that my dislike for obama is not based on his political views as much as his personal choices, associations, values, and beliefs.

i believe that most will agree that the current state of the united states is one that calls for change... be that what it may. no, i have not switched sides... however i do find myself believing that president obama has the greater good of the union at heart, or maybe i just want to believe that. my hope is that, anyway.

even so, i still find myself praying, pleading even, that God protect me and my loved ones from what may come. i find myself still in fear of this man who is now our leader. and, in the words of rick warren, i pray that the new president be convicted by the Holy Spirit to do what is right in the eyes of God. and pray for God's guidance, protection, and reassurance, because as we all know, what will be will be. if you pray, pray this prayer of rick warren's.

now, with that said. it was absolutely beautiful to watch the inauguration of the first black president of the united states. i found myself overjoyed by the proud looks of his wife and children.... as well as the multitudes of onlookers. it was an awesome occasion and i am proud, so proud to be an american... even amongst the turmoil.

oh.... and it also warmed me a bit to see the nervousness of the human, barack obama, flub his oath. even the ever so poised, calm, cool, and seemingly collected politician is one of us, after all.

it's party time!

so, i've been planning a bridal shower and bachelorette party for my sister, who is getting married in a few months. lots of fun!

as i was shopping around on line, i stumbled onto some pretty interesting bachelorette party items.... some of which were just laugh-out-loud hilarious! there is not a single thing that has not been made in the shape of male and female anatomy. lots of it is just raunchy and gross... but i have to share the following link, simply because i hate to laugh alone.

out of everything, my favorite is the macaweenie and cheese. bwahahahahahaa!

if you don't think you can handle it... don't click.

http://www.bachelorettesuperstore.com/page/100/CTGY/6000

oh, and not to worry... i didn't order anything. :)

the new wiggle

in case you didn't know, a few years ago disney announced they would be replacing greg, the yellow wiggle, with a new person. greg sufferer's from a chronic condition related to his blood pressure which affects his ability to perform, and he resigned.

this morning was our first time to see the new yellow wiggle, sam wiggle.

i like him, i think he's great.

zach just started laughing when he saw him.

z: "look at his head mommy... what happened to his head?"

m: "it's a different guy zach, greg got sick and so this is the new yellow wiggle. i like him, don't you?"

z: "nope, i sure don't"

we went through the same thing when joe replaced steve on blues clues. he'll adjust.