You all are correct. I DO know that. Sometimes I forget. My madness took over me. I guess her comment to me wasn't as bad

a. as calling another 9 year old swimmer too fat. (several times within 24 hours) "How can she be so fat if she's allergic to everything. I'm surprised she's not allergic to chlorine" Thing is the "fat" 9 year old is the 2nd fastest 10 and under on the team. That's it. Take it out on the 9 year old because the mom didn't beg you to keep T on the team. Insecure mom has no clue that "fat" 9 year old along with thin 9 year old have gone home crying because of bullying.

b. telling me the coach's is only goal is to get laid and smoke pot. I have no idea if he smokes pot. Knowing his mother I doubt he could get away with it. Getting laid...he's a 20 year old boy....duh. Though I have never seen him flirting or picking up girls at the pool. He is a very polite young man.

c. or "such and such is a crappy swimmer. Why are my kids in their relay. My kids will never get a ribbon because of her/them" It's called a team. We are a team. It's not all about your kids. I guess we should kick off all the lousy swimmers in her mind. This isn't traveling soccer babe. You are on the team if you are good or not. It is suppose to be FUN.



This negativity is affecting me. I may bitch and vent, but I'm not a negative (generally) person. I'm a glass half full type of person. When things are down I like to look at the positive. The only positive in this is that I'm not insecure and miserable in my life. She just validates that in her comments.

Enough of the swim BS. I'm so tired of it.

Yesterday was a horrible day. I forgot to take my meds (thyroid and anxiety) . Top that off with PMS and well, I am a negative person. I made my daughter cry with a meltdown of my own. David decided to get a train off a high shelf. He climbed on the the train table which is not really stable (of course it has never been finished) The shelf fell from the wall and hit him in the eye. He cries that he is bleeding. I tell him he isn't because he always claims he's bleeding or his legs are broken. Thing is he IS bleeding. In the end the kids and I rearrange entire room and throw away old carpet MIL gave us. My husband wouldn't let us get rid of carpet because his mother gave it to us. Mind you it has a gold paint stain on it when David decided to cover himself in the paint. (not to be confused with the pink paint incident when he decided to paint the floor) Since husband was at meeting until after 8 it was easy to dispose of carpet in secret. Since we (T and D included) loaded the carpet onto the pick-up it will never enter the house again.

Smokey J! The cat my friend (a true friend who I love dearly) found in my yard.

I've gotton him fixed, tested, vaccinated, dewormed etc. Haven't found a home (haven't really looked) He gets along great with Felix, but he hates the dog. The dog doesn't understand. Tries to be nice, gets in a submissive pose and all, and J hisses at her. Now Brandy is barking at the cat. Can't say I blame her. Just don't bark at me like you did this morning girl. I'm the one who gives you cow femers to chew on.

I wonder if my husband realizes that the cat is pretty much staying. He hasn't asked "when are you getting rid of that thing".

Might now since I got rid of "that carpet".

I NEED that run tomorrow. It's going to be 94 degrees. At least I'll sweat out some (most) of my negativity.

I blew off running. I've had 4 hours of good deep sleep the past two nights. Saturday night my husband must of been drinking whiskey. Kicking, pushing (on my part) and he would not move so I ended up on the couch to get away from the snores. Last night he ended up draped all over me while I was curled in a ball on the edge of the bed. Again the couch.

T's mom feels sorry for my daughter. Her other daughter can beat my kid in freestyle and backstroke. Her daughter has never had a swim lesson. Why she told me this I don't know. Maybe to make sure I know her daughter is better. I already know that. My daughter does not care. I don't really care either. Sure it would be nice if J was faster, if J was the best swimmer on the team. She isn't. Neither is her brother for that matter. There are 5 years old's that can beat my 7 year old son. There is nothing I can do about it. I am certainly not going to yell at them that they suck. They don't. They try their hardest. That's all I want them to do.

I must be getting PMS because in my mind I would like to say "well I feel sorry for your oldest because she is a bitch, a bully, has no friends and is a psychological mess. Sure all your kids can swim faster than mine. In the end that means nothing." Absolutely nothing.

I'm just pissed that she has to say she feels sorry for my daughter. Why tell me that? Answers please.

Misc

Stuff.

"A." I know you closest sibling is 9 years older than you. I know my son is your best friend. You are over here a minimum of 6 hours a day. You are loud (like my 4 year old) You are eating me out of house and home. When I say "no" to a push-pop I'm not changing my mind 5 minutes later. I think 7 push-pops between 4 children is quite enough for one day. (I was at work during this time) I can't keep up with your appetite. At 8 you should have an inside voice. Leave David alone too. Just be nice to him.



You just told me you are going to Michigan for a week. Thank you. Maybe when you come back Tommy can hang at your house during the week and you can come over here on weekends. Then Mr. M will be here and he can do all the yelling. Me, I'm tired of it.

Next day:

Just got back from a swim meet. J made me soooo proud. First her faults. Last one off at all starts. Child does not know how to dive. It's prettty sad. She jumps in arms and feet first, pops up and just starts swimming. I figure she loses at a minimum 5 seconds on her dive. So she goes in for her 50 free. She is in last (6) place. I'm cheering her on. She gets to 4th place at the wall, girl next to her and J do sloppy flip turns. I figure she'll finish in 4th or 5th place. This child rocks it on the last 15 yrds. She passes the girl next to her and comes in third! (yes I was obnoxiously screaming my head off for the last 5 yards) The timer mom said to me "she pops up at the finish and said I BEAT HER! with a big smile on her face.

That's my girl!

T beat all his best times and finished 2nd in breaststroke while looking every which way but straight ahead.

That's my boy because I do the same thing in running. One eye is near the back of my head trying to see how close the competition is in a 5k.

Humidity and updates:

Run...she stayed ahead of me on the hill. She stayed ahead of me the whole time. Today I was on her tail by the time we were down to our last 1/4 mile. Very fast pace home with high humidity. Thought it was just me, but she ran to the creek bed to vomit after we were done. (finished at 9:15 a.m!) No vomit though. To cool down I jumped in the pool (the swim team was practicing in) in my running clothes. Yes, it was awesome and so worth the car ride back home.


update :

Trouble child has been kicked off the team and sent away to live with grandparents for the summer. Seems she thought the swim lane was her personal space, ran/yelled/splashed into a boy. Short story even shorter, he ran from the pool and the coach finally caught up to him somewhere in the parking lot. The mom is feeling super guilty for sending her away, but that was the punishment agreed upon after my daughter was bullied. You can't go back on punishment threats. I've learned that lesson.

Father thinks the team overreacted. His daughter told him that she just told the boy to move. I guess in his reality she doesn't lie.

I keep researching this disorder and there is no magic cure. Pills, punishment, hospitalization...it seems to be a work in progress disorder.

I think my youngest is a piece of work. I can still (and I do) use the excuse "he's 4" Which, in reality is lame excuse, now that I have typed it. He's 4 which means he can't ride his bike around the neighborhood by himself, can't go off the diving board without me watching, must sit in a car seat, etc. He's 4. Which means he can get away with saying "you look beautiful mommy"and melting my heart. Some things he does...no. You can't always win, you can't keep having temper tantrums when you don't get your way and you have to be nice to the cat.

I think David just wants to be a big kid like his siblings. Doesn't get why he can't do all they do. Favorite line is..."but i'm four mommy!" Exactly!

Before he was born I wanted to name him Calvin. Yes, for Calvin and Hobbes. My husband said "no." For this simple reason. My husband has issues. (though, that is who Calvin was named after)

My son is Calvin (from Hobbes) You comb his hair, next minute it's sticking straight up. I'm sure
I've seen this
a


At times I've seen it in full frontal nuditity.

This winter I'm expecting something along these lines

Laughter for the day

Running against me

make sense?

Running partner #7 is me 3 years ago. I've met me and I like me. Even though I'm competitive I like running with this chick. We start out faster than I prefer. I can pass her on the hill. />

By the time I get to the top she has caught up to me. The way down I try to keep pace with her, but it's killer. Finally I run at my own pace and the goal is to keep her in my sights.

I did find out that she was trying for an 8:30 mile on the way back and running buddy #1 just informed me that I suck at downhill running. Who knew?

RP#7 knows where all the mile markers are. She checks her watch at each one. (past me) Now I just look at my watch to see when the hell the agony is going to be finished. I need to get up into the higher miles. Since I'm running with her 2x a week that can constitute hill training and running faster than I usually would. I need someone to push me and she is the one.

All in all in the running aspect .... life is good.

Wrong

Wolverine's (thanks Try) 1 month and/or summer punishment (whatever) lasted 4 whole days.

Yep.

No.

This is not what you wear to swim in a swim meet. It's called a one piece. I have yet to see olympic or winter swimmers in cute bikini's. I know there were two of you. I know both of you like flaunting "it". I guess that is why you sunned yourselves in the finish line area. This truly is a step down from last year. We were lucky to see you in your swim team suit (baywatch style because the smaller the better) and it was nice to know that you get a brazilian wax.

Sorry you lost your races to our girl in the one piece.

Better luck next time.

The meet, the run and the other child

Let's reverse that.

The run. Goals accomplished. No walking. Pace is now 9:18. I passed RB#7 on the hill. She passed me at the top, but I kept her close in my sights until the end. Score!

The Meet. First my daughter rocked the freestyle relay! Rocked. It. I have never seen such good form from her. Medley relay backstroke was good. Told her before she went off not to look at other swimmers and just to hit the wall. "MOM I KNOW!"

My son looked awesome. He swam his heart out in his relay. Came in first in the unnoficial heat. (took 3 seconds off his time trial time) Yeah T!

Ok I'm posting the drama. Let's preface with I am mad, and I don't blame (totally) the child.



Where to start? Synopsis on child: She is 10. She has Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Temper-tantrums, even over small disagreements, very upset when they don't get their own way.
Argues with adults, especially with those in authority.
Defies or deliberately refuses to follow rules or directions given by adults.
Deliberately annoys people, continues a behavior after being asked to stop several times (e.g., touching things, saying something, making sounds, etc.).
Blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior.
Seems touchy or easily annoyed by others.
Seems angry and resentful much of the time, walks around with a "sour-puss" much of the time.
Often wants to "even the score" with others, is spiteful toward others.

This is my diagnosis. Not sure if it's her actual problem. I hear she's ADHD, Bi-Polar whatever. She sees a shrink and is on about 6 pills per day. She is a troublemaker at school. Has grabbed a boys privates. Of course you realize this is not her fault. It was an accident. She slept over our home when she was 8 years old. Long story short....At 2 in the morning I told her "DON'T YOU F WITH ME, GET IN THERE!" It took all my adult maturity not to yell the actual fuck word.

From day one on swim team, she has grabbed, clawed swam over my child. She will butt in front of her. I have yelled at her. Her parents have talked to her. The coach has pulled her out of the water twice to talk with her. Two girls have broken down at home crying because of her. (clawing and grabbing them) She bullies the boys also. The mother is a neigbor and a friend. Their second daughter is my daughter's best friend. I finally told the mom that her daughter is not to touch my child in anyway at the pool. I don't want her hands on her. Told the mother the coach has pulled their daughter out of the pool and nothing is working. Mom emails me back that she and her husband are probably pulling daughter off team etc. Swim meet last night. Trouble child gets first in unofficial heat. Trouble child is a great swimmer. Mind you trouble child is over 20 seconds from the official heat winning time. Trouble child not kicked off team. Trouble child is grounded for a month. Grounded from what? She will be hanging at the pool in the afternoons, I know that much.

I haven't even touched what other things this child has done.

There is no consequence for her actions. She clawed a boy at a pool last Friday. She was grounded from the Brownie troop camping trip. Husband didn't want to cancel his plans. Of course not. She went on the Brownie camping trip. She disrespected the leaders and tormented her sister. No consequence.

The team has pulled Julia from Trouble child's lane. I told them if she touches my kid again or another kid she need to be off the team. The team needs (and will) do something. The parents not so much. I know if this were my child they would be off the team, and that's just the start of it. Yes the child, it seems can't help herself. I don't see any consequence for her actions. You're grounded for a month? Seriously what does that mean?

Little story of following through. Friend of a friend son (10) told his little brother (4) there was no Santa Claus. His parents had told him "don't tell him there is no Santa", if you do you are not getting Christmas presents. Christmas morning he had no gifts. His mother said it was the hardest thing she has ever done in her life. That boy? Has never disrespected his parents again. Learned a very valuable lesson.

pain

I have to walk down the stairs sideways. This proves my point that treadmill running is a joke. It is not based in reality.

Our well pump broke and our well has water. Yeah! It is fixed. Thanks to our awesome neighbors and their knowledge. Each one's well pump broke in the past year so they are pretty good at it. It only took 1 hour to fix and 1 hour to gaze upon their work while drinking beer. My house smells like bleach. (shock the pump) Which in turn smells like I have a maid.

I have a stray cat in our extra bedroom. He's super cool. No shelters will take him and my only option is the SPCA. That is NOT an option to me. RB #1 came over last night and gave him a bath. We are trying to find a home for him. He's so damn cool that I'm paying for him to be neutered and to get all his shots. I'm a tad worried about rabies, but so far so good. Even my husband didn't freak at me having a cat locked in a room upstairs. He's about as cool as Smokey Jr (aka smokey J or Mr. J) Told me to put in the mass email and flyers the following

"if cat is not gone by Friday, husband is taking him fishing in the boat"

Yeah....ha, ha not so funny, but I did laugh. Which makes husband think he's funny.

Having some serious problems with neighborhood child on the swim team. Can't get into it now...it's very bad though. Husband (who is so calm) is very, very upset. Will post about later when I'm not exhausted with; not having water, cleaning stray cats, working a swim-team program and awards, david, and painful legs.

Funny thing

Every singe time we get a tax refund something goes wrong. Every. Single. Time. Usually the money goes to my neighbor the plumber. Did I say usually? Does 99% of the time count as usually or would it be always?

We got our stimulus check Saturday. Yeah.

Today I got a call from my father saying that we had no water.

The neighbor two doors up well just ran dry last week. $12,000 and he has a new well.

I'm praying that it's the well pump. We have one already purchased and it's something a case of beer and neighborhood men can do. I hope it's that easy.

My legs are killing me today. I have a hard time going down the stairs. Should be fine by tomorrow. I'm so psyched for the Thursday run that even though I have to work that day, I'm running beforehand. I'm really excited about my not walking goal. I hate walking. I even walked when cars were passing on the road. I never do that. Never. I'd rather skip, crawl, dance than walk while in my running clothes. It's just not right.

Right vs Wrong

Right:

Drink a large glass of water.
Eat something.

Wrong:

Drink 3 cups of coffee
Don't eat anything.

Which do you think I did before my 3+ mile run in the humidity? Yeah the wrong way. I walked 3x. The final time was because the goosebumps came and the head swirled a bit. Funny thing is I ran a 9:29 pace. (with those walks!) RB #7 and I are well matched. Well once I get my stamina up I can keep up with her. Probably pass her, but first things first.

Goal for Thursday do the "right" thing. No walks and keep up. We have a group goal to go up this hill as a sprint.





It's a short hill, definately not a mountian, but for the time being it'll have to do.

Stand up

"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conversative, has no brains." -- Winston Churchill

What would you do if someone said the above to you? My SIL said it to me Memorial Day Weekend. After she said it I thought "she didn't just call me stupid?" I gave a little "heh, heh, heh" and walked away. Of course for the next week I was really pissed off. "How. Dare. She.

Today was hubby's family reunion. I was talking to one of his cousins (my favorite) and while we both are registered Republicans we are voting Democratic. High five! Later I go into the family room and said cousin comes in and says "room for another democrat?" Basically as a joke because hubby's family is as RED as they come. My SIL repeats the above to me and the cousin. Well now I've had it. Usually I blow things off, but no one and I repeat NO ONE calls me stupid. I look her straight in the eye and said "I don't think I'm stupid, I think I'm pretty smart." (not about punctuation though) "George Bush is smart?" Is he smarter than anyone in this room? She is shocked that I came back at her... goes on to say"Winston Churchill said that quote." Honestly, I don't care if he said it. Why the hell are you saying it to me. You just said I had no brain.

While you are at it don't "one up" my story. I'm real proud of my son going off the high dive. Not proud enough to mention it. His father did that. Don't start with (your now 15 year old son) doing the same thing, but much better at the same age. I. Don't. Care. Yes your kids are all better than mine in everything they do. I get it. You won't let me forget it. You have wonderful kids I love them and brag about them to others. Let's just leave it at that.

I did have an awesome weekend before this party, but what fun is it writing about that?

regression

I was complaining about that today. My littlest had regressed on Tuesday's swim progress. He would barely jump off the diving board and was whiny about the whole thing. He was grabbing on the wall and wouldn't jump in the pool without a noodle.

Let's just say he was swimming freestyle three (3) hours later. Yeah, I said freestyle.

My daughter kicked ass on butterfly at time trials. I was like "who is this kid?" Usually it's not pretty to watch. She came in 2nd for the 9 year olds.

Son #2 is me. "Did I win?, did I win?" "I didn't come in last did I?" No he didn't come in last. If he did I wasn't telling him. I'm sticking with that story.

complaint

I sometimes read this travel section in the Times. A while back someone was complaining about people wearing flip flops on a plane and how discusting it was. WTF? First, how can you see someone's feet while you are sitting in a plane. Maybe in first class you can see them, but for the rest of us back in cheap seats...well I'm lucky if I can see my knees. Maybe people have gross toenails. Honestly the word toenails is gross all on it's own. The writer just reminded me of my MIL who would complain about this sort of thing. I do love her. She just has a lot of old people complaints. They all start out as "back in my day......"

I hope I don't become one of those old people complainers. Though I did tell my kids yesterday "back in my day they didn't sell ice cream at the pool!" I like calling people how I see them. That word is usually idiot. I was behind a LOT of idiot drivers yesterday. I guess that's why my kids call each other idiots. It took me a good 6 months complaining about the kids at school teaching them bad words, when all along it was me.

Thankfully I'm not calling the idiot drivers mother fuckers.

same day

This child of mine...

Today we jumped in and swam (not "real" swimming) to mom who was on lane 2.
Today we jumped off the diving board, came up and coasted to mom. Yep no noodle. Well one for mom after awhile because treading water gets old.
Skittles burps reek.

Oppressive

We are in the midst of a heat wave. This heat wave has brought the following:


A newfound appreciation of Mikes Hard Lemonad3.
Learned that to stop goggles from fogging you use dish detergent.
That going off a diving board in a one piece speedo sure beats a tankini.
My littlest can go off the high dive onto a noodle.
Swimming at the pool for 3 hours will make my littlest take a very long nap.

Even though summer is the worst of seasons for me, it has started off better than the past two years. I am no longer living at the baby pool or standing in the big pool with David hanging on the wall. Every time we go I push him a little further towards pool independence. I may actually read a few pages of a book at the pool this summer.

Work is still awful slow. To make the glass half full instead of pretty much empty I will use this downtime for me. Usually I work everyday in the summer and get off in the afternoons. I'm keeping my winter schedule (work 3/off 2) and using the off days to go running while the kids swim. It's a run that was my training ground for the half marathon. Which is good. Lots of hills, and so NOT the same old, same old route.

last place?

Well that was a huge dissapointment.

Party a success.

Pre party....(in no particular order)

close up of table runner.
Table centerpiece. (the belmont flower is the white carnation.
Partial outside dining.
The pre bar.

table runner with kitten included.I'm ready!

Since I last posted:

I've had PMS for an entire week.

My boobs are about to explode.

Will not discuss what I have done vs. what my husband has done for party preparation.

Realized that I forgot to RSVP for a high school graduation. Though I did tell their sister (cousin) I couldn't make it. Not sure why they invited me. I only see them at funerals. Maybe that's why.

Realized I'm not an idiot regarding HDTV surround sound hookup. Had a "master" come and after 45 min he managed to do something or other and we have sound.

Power walked and ran.

Ran on what felt like 2' x 4' wood legs. (might need new sneakers)

A swim team mom saw me run and wants to run with me. (I must of looked better than I felt)

Will run with her 2x a week during swim team practice. (great hills)

My youngest is fish. A fish that can't really swim yet. He loves the water. I had to stop him (run/sprint) from going off the high dive the other day. No fear.
Hope to post pre-party pictures tomorrow.

RSVP

Répondez s'il vous plaît", a French phrase that translates to "reply, if you please". It is with this meaning that invitation cards and similar documents are often marked with "R.S.V.P."

Seems only a few (the proud) know what this means.

I have a feeling I'm going to run out of food or be eating leftovers for days on end.

And NO. I'm not calling people up. Like I have time for that nonsense.

I'm going with the flow. In more ways than one.