Our Family

A few days ago, Cassie asked me if I really enjoyed my job. I asked what made her think that I might not. Cassie said, "Well, you are always so happy on Friday." Oh, where do I begin? Although I truly love my job, I am always happy to see Friday come. Seriously, I love my job more than I ever imagined I could enjoy working. But, for all of us, Friday is the signal of the weekend and a little down time.

Because I still don't have the time or money for professional therapy, I will vent by sharing the events of just 2 days of my life. We are in the midst of federally mandated testing at work. We are testing the "Limited English Proficient" students and because I'm the Department Chair, it's pretty much my responsibility to make sure the testing gets done. Most of you know that, although I'm extremely creative and innovative, being organized isn't necessarily one of my strengths. But, I've been working like a maniac to assemble a testing roster, maintain security of the testing books, schedule the various sessions, etc. So, I'm barely pausing to breathe at work.

On Wednesday, I left for home around 3:45. Cassie had ballet at 4:30. I had told Les that if he dropped her off, I'd bring her home. I got to the dance studio by 4:50. Les and Lacey were there. We spent a couple minutes together, smiling and happy. Then, they headed for home. I ran to the beauty salon next door to get my eyebrows waxed - a small concession to myself. Then, I ran to the supermarket to order Les' birthday cake. I raced back to the dance studio and collected Cassie. We got home around 5:45. I forgot to mention that Cassie had a 6:45 Taekwondo Graduation Ceremony. When we got home, Les was preparing to heat up some leftover pizza that was only about 10 days old. I suggested that it might be more appropriate to feed that to the opossums. I dug through the freezer and we ended up sharing some spicy taquitos (!), a bit of leftover spaghetti and some leftover green bean soup. At 6:20, we were on our way to the Taekwondo graduation. We all had to remove our shoes to enter the studio. Wouldn't you know it - I was wearing my Halloween socks again! By the way, we are extremely proud of Cassie for earning her purple belt.

We got home around 8:15 and hustled Lacey off to bed. I remembered to check voice mail and discovered that Les had made a Friday afternoon dental appointment for the girls. And he was planning to tell me this when? I spent the next two hours working on lesson plans, etc. I shut down the computer and decided to enjoy a few minutes of Law and Order. At 10:45, Les said that, oh, by the way, he didn't have to leave until 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning and suggested that I let the sitter know she could sleep in. And the reason he waited until 10:45 p.m. to share this with me was?

Got up at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday and dragged my tired body into the shower. Threw on some clothes, went downstairs, threw the dishes in the dishwasher and fed the pets. I packed the girls' lunches, made coffee, said goodbye to Les (who was still in bed) and left the house mumbling, "I hate you!" Why don't I ever get to be the one to sleep in?

I had a late meeting and didn't leave for home until 5:30 p.m. Stopped at the supermarket, in response to a call about Les' cake. It seems the cake decorator doesn't work on Fridays and would not be able to fulfill the order for the awesome Bass Pro Shop cake that I had ordered for Les So, I had to reorder. As I dashed through the store, I remembered that the girls needed toothpaste and juice boxes. And, we could probably use some fruit for breakfast and some fresh bread. Why didn't I grab a cart on the way in?

I walked in the door at 6:45. Les and the girls were engrossed in a movie and had kindly left dinner and all the dishes on the counter for me. Lacey looked up and informed me that "noodles all gone, Mommy." I managed to get the dishes done without any breakage and then remembered that I was out of clean socks. As I dragged a basket of laundry down the stairs, I yelled back to Cassie that Yes, I know that Goofy is a dog and I was very sorry that her friend doesn't like ballet.

So, yes, I love Fridays. I'd probably love having a housekeeper even more!

Lacey with her "100 Day" Poster

Cassie Testing for her Purple Belt

Cassie Preparing to Break a Board

Les' Birthday - The girls sang him a song they composed titled, "My Family."

A big thanks to Julio and his brother for the work they are doing in our house. They are making our kitchen look so happy!

Today we had the great fortune of visiting Mark's sheep farm. It was a new experience for all of us. Cassie said she felt like she had stepped into a Boxcar Kid's novel!

"Dacks" the llama guard

Our host

Here are some words that describe the lambs: adorable; bawling for their moms; cuddly; darling; energetic; frolicking; growing; hungry; innocent; joyful; kicking; lambs (of course!); memorable; noisy; organic (Oh, that would be what comes out of them!); playful; quick; restless; secret-telling; tottering; unbelievable; vocal; wonderful and wooly; extraordinary (Come on! You didn't really think we could find a word that begins with "x," did you?); young; zig-zagging!