Keys, Please!

It's been three weeks now since Tyler got his drivers license.June 10th-not even a full month has passed.Ahh, the memories. It seems so long ago, those days of me toting him around.I was so sad at seeing him drive off that first morning.My first born child, taking the lives of his brothers in his hand as he drove them off to swim practice.I stood on the front porch and watched, ready to throw my body down to stop him from leaving.My, how a few short weeks can change everything.Three weeks later,...

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Manic Monday

Monday morning, I was very sluggishly trying to get ready for work. In the process though, I learned a magic trick that would make David Copperfield jealous:How to make teenage boys disappear in 3 easy steps:1.) Ask them to take a shower. Especially during the summer.2.) Ask them to help clean up. Anything. Any time.3.) When the first two do not get done, take away beloved electronics.POOF! They will vanish to a friends house right before your very eyes!I was trying, really trying.It was a Monday...

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Show me the money, mom

What is it with men and money?They either want all the control of the money or nothing to do with it.I have managed our family finances for most of the 17 years my husband and I have been married. This is partly out of necessity-it doesn't make sense for him to manage the checkbook from a boat in the Gulf of Mexico where he works. But, a certain non-verbal arrangement was made at some point. He cleans the garage. I pay the bills. I interview the maid (or let her interview us.) He makes sure we have...

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Work Life Balance?

I'm in bed this morning, trying to recuperate from a long week.I decided to forgo any attempts to make coffee and instead went straight for Diet Coke.No chance of me needing to suck it off the kitchen floor with a straw.And because I am still in a daze from the week, thrilled it is Saturday and that there are no swim meets or mouthy 11 year olds nearby, I am eating breakfast in bed.Cheeze Its.I'm just too tired to eat much else.Yep, it's me, Cheeze Its, a diet coke and the TV for now.I knew my TV...

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You know it's going to be a bad day when...

Your morning goes something like this:Turn on coffee pot.Take shower.Go back for coffee and there is no pot.But lots and lots of coffee on the floor.You would think coffee pot makers would think of this.Coffee is, afterall, usually meant for those of us who are NOT QUITE AWAKE WHICH IS WHY WE ARE MAKING COFFEE TO BEGIN WITH.Do I sound like I need caffiene?Yes! It's all over my kitchen and not in a cup, although I was tempted to try and use my hands or to scrape some off the counter into a cup. Or...

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What's a Farrah Fawcett?

A month or so ago, I watched the documentary about Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer. Toward the end of the show, Tyler walked in at one point, saw that I was watching something medical (he hates medical shows) and asked what I was watching.I said, "It's a documentary about Farrah Fawcett and her battle with cancer."He looked at me like I had just spoken French."What's a Farrah Fawcett?"It has never occurred to me that her name might sound a little strange to someone who didn't grow up with Charlie's...

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Rejected and Redeemed

Back in May, we let our housekeeper go. It was a weird set of circumstances that led us to that decision. But at the moment, it seemed so sensible.Save money.Let the kids help out more during the summer.Save money.Wrong on all accounts. Within 3 days I had turned into the demon mom from hell when I arrived home from work each day and quickly found things growing in my sink and commodes.I put out the word among my mom friends: Housekeeper needed. 911.Within a few days, a friend had scheduled me an...

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Choices

I arrived in Austin last night, here for a quick work visit.I haven't been to the Austin airport in years, probably at least twenty years. The minute you step into this terminal, instantly you know you are Austin. Even the air has an Austin feel to it.I found the rental car terminal, gave them my name and asked for my car.I had reserverd a standard car, nothing fancy, this was a work trip after all.The lady behind the desk said, "well, you've reserved a standard, but we don't have any standard cars...

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Jon minus Kate

Well, I started a blog tonight while waiting for my flight to Austin.The original blog was about the tv programming choices that I had to choose from at 11:30 last night. I didn't finish that post, the flight arrived, maybe I'll get to it later.As I spend the night at my dad's house in Austin, I am saddened by the news that Jon and Kate have decided to divorce. Not entirely surprised, but saddened.I am a child of divorce, I know the pain divorce causes, on a very personal level.I can still remember...

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Remote Control

Sunday night I was up at 11:30, which seems to have become my new bedtime. I'm one of those weirdos who goes to sleep with the TV on.The TV had been off all day but I turn it on to fall asleep.That should say something about our programming options these days.I'm flipping channels and I notice that the choice of TV shows these days has deteriorated into a strange selection of options that is eerily reminisent of the old time freak shows at a circus.Pay a quarter, lift the curtain, see the tallest...

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Speechless

Warning, this post is not for the faint of heart, grandparents, or parents who have small children and have not yet entered the world of teenagers. Actually, if you have small children, you might want to read this to get an idea of the speeding train that is headed straight down the tracks, straight towards you.Today at the swim meet (yes, I keep coming back to that and no, I never found the parent of the blue Igloo), I had my Blackberry with me.What working mom worth her salt doesn't have a Blackberry...

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Summer Fun?

If you read my previous blog from last weekend, you know I am once again at a Saturday swim meet.This is our last full meet of the year.There are 1600 people here.I got lucky. Or smart. Instead of timing in the blazing sun, I've moved to the dark side and joined the parents who don't act as timers, and I'm sitting in the shade.Sort of...Shade or no shade, I think it's near 100 degrees.My partner in crime parent Debbie just found out she is signed up to work concessions from 1 to 4. We stare at each...

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Half Baked, Part II

Fortunately, I work in a job where I can pop in and out of the house during the summer on some days, depending on my client visits.Today was one of those days. I was in the area and decided to pop in for lunch.Now, since we have three teenagers and they are sometimes home alone, I have some rules.Rule number 1: No one comes inside unless you talk to me first.Actually, that is the only rule, other than brush your teeth by 10 am.What usually happens is this:Pick a kid, calling me on their cell: "Mom,...

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Half Baked, Part I

June 18th. Half Baked. That is where I am at tonight. Half baked, half done.Actually, there is a dual reason I decided to use that title, keep reading, there is a part II.My husband left for work this morning at 5:30 am, I think. Normally, when he leaves, he is lucky to see the back of my head. I am just aware enough to scooch over into his space and relish the fact that I don't have to share the bed (or remote) for the next four days, but other than that, I am usually wonderfully oblivious when...

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Reminders

I am at Texas Children's tonight as Jordan gets his MRI done. I don't know if I will finish this before he gets out, if I do, that's a good thing because it means he was very still and the test wasn't the full hour they have predicted.I am reminded of many things as I sit in this waiting room in Texas Children's tonight. Here they are:I am reminded how grateful I am that I have a job that allows me the flexibility to bring my son down here during the middle of the week for this test. I am reminded...

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The First Family. Or Family First.

Last night, Sunday, all I could think about for was how little I had accomplished over the weekend.Actually, let me back up a little. The reason for me feeling that way is the direct result of a decison I made sometime in the spring of 1999. We had just moved back to the area, after living 4 years away from the family. The boys were little. So small, they followed me around like I was a mama duck. They must have been 5, 2 and 1 that spring. At the front of my subdivison was a sign that said something...

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