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Monday, December 5, 2016

It's a new week, and we're gonna have a wedding!

No wedding this week, but cross everything because my son and I are going to make a contract for the wedding venue today!!!  The wedding will be in June, so whew, lots of time to work out all those pesky details. And -- I'm bonding with the rental person for my city's lovely facility, who has already answered most of the questions we came up with.

Meanwhile, getting prepped for an annual fundraiser for a do-good organization on Saturday.  Yay!  

We'll start the holiday decorating after that.  It still seems too soon!  (I know, but we get the tree -- a real one -- about 2 weeks before Christmas, and that's when all the decorating happens.)  And when I start freaking out about how much cleaning there is to do.

How's by you?

94 comments:

kathy a. said...

The contract is signed! All I can say is, party planning is a very good distraction from the news. :)

Happy birthday to not-so-little E!

Liz, glad you all settled on a more felicitous household arrangement!

esperanza said...

Hooray Wedding!

W: We had a terrible afternoon for some reason. Sweet was very, very angry.
AW: We apologized to each other at bedtime. That is a first from her. She's growing up.

W: Now I'm exhausted, despite my day of do-nothing.

esperanza said...

AW: It's all official. I have a job, though the announcement has not been made to the congregation yet. Official start date is January 1.

Anonymous said...

Woohoo esperanza!! Congrats!!!!
--NL

kathy a. said...

Go, Esperanza! Congratulations!!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Congratulations, esperanza!!

p_k said...

My kids came home from their 4 overnights in a row with their dad today. I picked up the kids from school today and they angrily/tearfully told me that their dad says I have the kids during winter break a lot more than he does, and that they won't be able to do certain parties/activities with their friends, church youth group, etc. because I have the kids so much more than he does and so he doesn't want to give up any of the few days he gets to spend time with them because he hardly has them for winter break at all and I have them for most of winter break. He has the kids for 14 overnights in the month of December, and he actually gets 5 overnights in a row while the longest stretch I have in December is 4 overnights in a row. But the kids can't go to their fun activities because I have them almost all the time and he hardly has them at all, he says. :(


Then they accused me of being the one who decides how much time they get with each parent and making it so that I get them more than he does.

The irony is, this is the winter break schedule *he* proposed, with very few changes, and the only modifications I suggested didn't change the number of overnights we each had.

School starts up again Jan 2nd. That week they are with me on their normal schedule, until Thursday when he gets them until Monday.

I got paperwork to fill out for the GAL today! She wants me to list two references. I was expecting to be able to give more than that. Not sure who to pick.

esperanza said...

Can you list your top two on the form and then attach a few others?

And I'm sorry he's continuing to...ack, I don't even know what to call it...use the kids and their emotions to further his jackassery. That's low.

Sue said...

pk, the STBX's behaviour is completely inappropriate. Surely there is someone (lawyer, GAL, I don't know...someone!) who can inform him that this is just wrong. This is a cruel game he's playing at. My only hope is that it will all reflect very poorly on him in court.

Yay kathy! A wedding!!!!!

Happy Birthday to E!!!

Congratulations, esperanza!!! WooHoo!!!!

W: The meeting at the hospital yesterday went as well as we could have hoped, but it was still perfectly awful. MIL is so very angry at all of us, accused us of telling lies just to get rid of her, etc... Hubby is having a terrible time of it.

She will be going home next Monday with 6-8 hours per day/7 days a week home care until she is placed in long-term care. That should take about 3 months. She will get a bed more quickly if she is at home. It's not ideal, as she has never agreed, at any time in her life, to have help coming in to the house, and we're pretty sure she won't like it now.

FIL is really struggling.

Work Whines: They are polishing the floors in the church hall today and the fumes from the cleaner, and now the polish, are quite horrid. I've closed my office door, but it's still making my head hurt.

And, the church secretary came to work with the plague - again. I asked her if she could get her work done tomorrow and go home, but she grumbled something about "It's Christmas, you know." and wandered back into her lair.

So, there it is. Not a great start to the day.

Anonymous said...

(((PK))) I wouldn't normally recommend this, but can you print out the negotiations regarding the vacation schedule to show your kids? If he's going to punish the kids for GETTING WHAT HE ASKED FOR, they need to know.

(((Sue))) wash your hands often. I recommend wearing latex gloves in the public areas of the church, or better yet working from home because of the fumes.

Liz on iPhone

kathy a. said...

Waitaminute -- HE is teh one who proposed the schedule; and HE is the one who refuses to let the kids do things they want while at his house; and somehow he blames you, PK? Wow...

kathy a. said...

I don't know about showing kids legal documents -- but it seems fair to say he asked for that many days, and you agreed. And that when he makes decisions about what they are allowed to do at his house, you do not have the ability to make him do something else (like let them go to the things they were planning). And then nothing more -- no heat, no judgment.

Kids can all understand being blamed for something that someone else did. They will end up putting that together.

Sue -- I'm so sorry your MIL is so angry, and your FIL is having such a hard time. Glad that your FIL will at least get some help / respite!

The fumes sound awful. Ugh.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

PK, I know that I don't understand all the legalities and child complications, but it feels like STBX is taking all kinds of liberties with lies and parental alienation, and you aren't afforded the same wiggle room to say "those are lies and that is manipulation." I'm worried about the whole "a lie unchallenged becomes the truth" thing, you know? I'm so sorry about all of this, PK.

Sue: my heart hurts for you all, with the MIL/FIL situation.

Liz Miller said...

Yes, I feel like you can say, "look kids, your dad had first pick. I made one change of [change], and otherwise it's exactly what your dad wanted. I try really hard not to play monkey in the middle with you around these issues, but I won't let your dad blame me for his choices."

Liz Miller said...

(Speaking as a child of divorce, here. My parents were not as acrimonious as your STBX is being, but both laid their cards on the table when the other parent was being manipulative around custody issues.)


esperanza said...

...and if you do as Liz is suggesting, pk, *you* aren't the one bringing them into the middle of it. He already did so, and you're making sure they have all of the information instead of only one side.

Sue, I neglected to send you hugs and sympathy about your in laws and your hubby. That's rough, all around. My grandmother likewise had always refused to have help in the home. So, best as we could, we let her make the decision, and she chose to go to "the rest home," as she called it. I'm so sorry it's such a difficult time.

Sue said...

I left the church at around 11:00 as I couldn't take the fumes anymore, or the exposure to sick secretary germs. I told her to stay home tomorrow, and mentioned specifically that I am surrounded by vulnerable people - hubby and his parents - who shouldn't be exposed to viruses. She was grumpy about it. Whatever.

kathy a. said...

Yay, Sue!

I'm starting on the Christmas cards, and I cheat by using address labels, which I know is tacky but this works. AND, lo, again this year, I'm remembering that somebody got divorced; somebody else moved, and another one who never gave me a new address. (Many years, also "oops, somebody died" moments.) But am trying to fix as I go, for next year....

Anonymous said...

Kathy a-- impressed with your energy to get going on cards, and no--address labels are not tacky! At least I hope not since we've used them for a while.... ;)

Sue-- so sorry about the MIL and FIL situation. Also, good for you for leaving early and telling secretary to stay home!

I agree with all the advice for P_K. Hugs to you-- and I agree that by clarifying and telling the truth, that does not mean you are putting them in the middle.

esperanza, hope today was better!

Hugs to all,
Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

Christmas cards is one of the things that does not happen around here. And we get lots of them with stick on labels. I don't think it's a big deal. We just got a college graduation announcement with a stick on label, which seems more formal.

Today was better, thanks, NL. Mini's energy level is astounding, however.

kathy a. said...

I've got the labels, pixies. But I did not buy enough cards....

On the up side, a person needed pasta with a garlic / pancetta / basil / creamy / cheese sauce, and she is already eating some, before anybody else gets home.

Don't worry, the dog goddess got her own delicious meal, too. (My beloved's first question, every.single.day.)

esperanza said...

The Baboos' first question, every day: Is Daddy home? Second question: Is Daddy coming home for supper?...don't mind me, I'll just be here to meet the bus, get you a snack, help you with your homework, and make supper.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I really SHOULD use labels, when I send my cards (first time in forever! But we had pictures done this year). My handwriting is terrible. I'll make up return address labels, at least, since I can print many, many of them at once.

esperanza: me too. Every day. Yesterday, I said to E, "You know, you make me very happy." She replied, "Daddy makes me very happy."

kathy a. said...

In defense of labels: It is a pain to input the names/addresses, and you need to be sure you have the right template for the kind of label you'll be using. BUT, then it is all a piece of cake! (As long as you remember to update when you get new info.)

But even the inputting -- My handwriting is bad. My typing is not so bad.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

These are all excellent arguments in favour! I don't think they're tacky at all.

p_k said...

STBX is, as I anticipated, playing clueless. He had NO IDEA it would affect the kids that way to tell them that the reason he wasn't allowing E to attend the sleepover was because of the residential schedule and him having so little time with them between Christmas and the New Year. Telling them anything else would be lying to them, and he couldn't very well lie to them, could he now? Exactly the same argument he used for why he had to tell them that the separation was all my fault, etc. etc.

I had charted out all the days with each parent color coded on the calendar, so I showed that to the kids and let them count all the days. It helps to have a visual sometimes. Looking at it it's pretty clear that it's close to half and half. 11 year old seems to have her anger diffused quite a bit by that. 14 year old just accused me of arguing and said she wasn't going to believe me.

Liz Miller said...

Your 14 year old sounds like mine, some days. Trust me, it will get better.

Sue said...

(((pk)))

Way to go kathy re: Christmas cards! Those haven't happened in our house for years. I do appreciate receiving them and have dispensed of the previous guilt I felt at receiving a card but not sending one back.

W: the fireplacing secretary is here this morning. We arrived at the same time so I asked her in the parking lot how she was feeling. "Better. I sound terrible, I know, but I'm better." My reply: "Well, stay away from my office and if you need anything, call me on the intercom. You shouldn't be here."

I can't be much more clear about it than that. I'm debating whether I need to let our personnel committee know about it. It's not the first time it's happened - she's quite determined to be indispensable. On the other hand, she's a member of the congregation - is it fair for her minister to get her into trouble with Personnel?

Never. Hire. Congregants. Ever.

esperanza said...

Ugh and ugh and ugh, on all counts, Sue.

kathy a. said...

Who ignores the boss when the boss says "go home"?

Liz Miller said...

HORRIBLE.

Sue, tell her to GO. HOME. "I told you not to come in today, I don't know how much clearer I can be."

Liz Miller said...

Around the ministerial vs. boss issue, I would say to her, "I'm your minister but I'm also your co-worker, and I need you to not put me in the position of having to balance those two things. When you are sick, you need to stay home so that you do not become a vector for illness to me, my family, and our congregation as a whole. You are an important part of the function of the church, but that includes taking responsibility for the health and welfare of the community. Please do not make me take this up with the Personnel Committee"

Liz Miller said...

Put it on her.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Liz's words are good words, for that situation. Cluesticks for your receptionist, Sue.

So many hugs, PK. It was smart for you to colour-code the calendar like that. Cluesticks for your STBX, and all these games he's playing.

W: that kid of mine. She, and all the rest of the preschool class, got in trouble today and lost their fun/toy room time (they did another activity during that time, but they'd been too wild to be able to wrangle in the toy room). E was being super crabby today, and got mad at the learning assistant for saying that it was time to put away a puzzle and join the class in the thing they were learning. The teacher was really surprised by the behaviour, because E is normally not like that at school. (This is the second time they've had a costume-type day -- it was pyjama day today -- where E's been grouchy and ill behaved. I told the teachers that, if there are any more costume days this year, I'm just sending E to school in her regular clothes, because she can't handle her routine being disrupted. Honestly, she cried about wearing her pjs to school, and so I should have followed her lead and put her in regular clothes.) When we got home, I put E's new caterpillar robot away until after quiet time, as a wee consequence for what happened at school, and we're trying to practice how to handle the situation in the future. We're working on "If you're not done your puzzle when it's time to learn how to do the craft, you can just say 'May I please put this puzzle somewhere safe and finish it during playtime?'"

I'm wiped. She's been a bear all day. We had a busy day yesterday, and by bedtime she was saying that she was sick, but all her symptoms were just tiredness. I really hope quiet time helps, because I'm at the end of my rope with all the acting out she's doing today.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Follow-up whine: I just went to get E from her quiet time, and she was too weak to get out of bed. Her forehead is warm, and her throat is sore. I suspect I'm going to be spending my birthday (tomorrow) taking a sick child to the doctor. We'll see how she does after a nap this afternoon.

Liz Miller said...

Oh no, QWP!!! That really does sound like over-tired, not-over-illness, don't-change-ANYTHING-AT-ALL-EVER.

kathy a. said...

QWP, may it only be the grumpies. Here, I'm passing some Sick-B-Gone.

AW: Brunch with a longtime friend!

Sue said...

(((QWP))) (((E))))

I'm not the secretary's boss, or even her supervisor. The Ministry and Personnel Committee has 100% oversight of staff. She doesn't actually have to listen to me at all, unless of course, she decides to be a decent human being.

I was very direct with her about why it was important for her to stay home. And it's not the first time it's happened. Two years ago she showed up at choir practice with the plague - she sits behind a woman who had just finished a round of chemo! The choir director didn't even let her sit down - she pointed to the door and said, "Go. Home." Unbelievable.

I'll have a talk with the M&P Chair - this is ridiculous.





Queen of West Procrastination said...

Wow, is she ever inconsiderate, Sue! Over-convinced of her importance and under-convinced of the consequences of her choices.

Liz Miller said...

Good for you, Sue! I'm glad you're kicking it upstairs.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

W: listening to a child do a lot of hacking and coughing during her nap. I dread when she wakes up, because I know she's going to be challenging.

AW: less than an hour until her father gets home, and he has tomorrow off (one EDO a year, and he takes it on my birthday).

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Old Skool: there are three missing thermometers in this house. I'm going to have to wait until Mr. Q is home from school, and then venture into the bitterly cold outdoors, so that I can get a thermometer, so that I can find out whether my kid has a fever. (And I'll need to do the venturing out: E is going to want Beloved Daddy once he's home, and he walks to work and can't pick anything up on his way.)

Liz Miller said...

((((QWP)))) I'm betting the three missing thermometers are all together.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

She woke up begging me to take her temperature (because she can also tell that her whole body is hot) and to take her to see her doctor. I will do both of those soon. (Well, we'll wait to see her beloved GP tomorrow, since thankfully Dr. M reserves a few urgent care spots a day.)

esperanza said...

QWP!! No more sick!! I'm so sorry.

For what it's worth, it was not until this year that Sweet wanted to participate in costume-y days, and she doesn't want to do all of them. You do you, E.

kathy a. said...

Yes, Sue. Whatever any other issues, thinking it's OK to inflict major germs on others is unfair to the everybody. And more so to some.

Oy, QWP! If you can tell she's hot, and she can tell she's hot -- time for some children's advil or local equivalent. xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

That's the other half of the whine: we're out of all the pediatric painkillers! We ran out with the last bout of illness, and intended to get more during our last trip to the grocery store, but forgot to put it on the list. I'm sending Mr. Q panicked texts "PLEASE get pediatric advil and a thermometer on your way home" and tried to call him, but I think his phone his dead. Oh and also I forgot that he volunteered to cover for the curling coach after school (who had a doctor appointment). He must have come and taken the car after school. Poor E: she's in so much pain right now.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW/W: Mr. Q called home on his way home from the curling rink, and he's now on his way to the drugstore. BUT there's something wrong with his phone, which is why he wasn't getting back to me before. I sure hope this is fixable, because December is an expensive month!

Liz Miller said...

YIKES, QWP. It never rains but it pours.

Liz Miller said...

Both Mr. Spock and Muffin Man are out for the evening. Why am I on the internet instead of watching a DVD neither of them ever want to see?

kathy a. said...

Liz -- who says you can't do both? ;)

QWP -- the phone is on him. and also the thermometer and ped meds.

semi-w -- i can no longer type properly, because it is cold and the junior cat is on my desk, and she MUST snuggle against my chest and under my arm. only a matter of time before she does the bitey thing, to indicate i am not ... Nevermind. She applied claws to underarm, and that ended the lovefest.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Haha, Liz, that is always what happens here too!

AW: Mr. Q is home now, having brought home my favourite kind of thermometer, and all the brands of pediatric painkillers. And E's fever is low: just on the edge between low grade and full-blown fever. And, now that the painkillers are kicking in, a bit of her appetite has finally returned.

Also AW: my parents didn't know what to get us for combined birthday/Christmas, and are keen to contribute toward phone replacement. Also, it won't cost as much as I was envisioning, because we've been out of contract for over a year, and have been holding off on replacing (and thus getting inexpensive phones) until we needed it. If E is well enough tomorrow, we might go ahead and replace our phones. (Or Mr. Q can live without for a few days, and we'll do that on the weekend.)

kathy a. said...

Needless Markup "fantasy" catalog -- really hilarious! 3 of us could buy a rose gold jet for $1.5 mil., because that would be so... something something. (Only 3 seats, sorry.)

I think the best anybody in my family can hope for is along the lines of useful....

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, I had to go and look that up, Kathy. That's the distraction I need right now. (I was already reading through the hilarities of the W-S Catalogue today.)

esperanza said...

ha! I've got the W-S tab open to read when I get a chance.

Mini is on a back-talking, sassy, argue-with-everything streak. Guess who's going to bed early tonight?

kathy a. said...

'Tis the season, no? Sorry, everybody, about the excess crankiness in the air. xoxo

esperanza said...

I'm crabby because we've had a total of 2 hours of sunshine in a whole week. This is not good for me. Maybe that's Mini's problem, too.

kathy a. said...

Oh. Good point, Esperanza. xoxo

Sue said...

(((QWP))) I hope the meds helped and E was able to get some sleep (and you too, of course!) Also - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

esperanza, I hear you on the lack of sunshine. It's been a gloomy couple of weeks here too and it's not helping my general demeanour one bit. I need to be using my SAD light...

The w-s catalogue commentary is brilliant, as always. It feels good to laugh out loud!

AW: I'm alone at the church this morning! Yay!!

esperanza said...

Happy Birthday, QWP! I hope E is feeling better.

Sun is shining here, at the moment. Wind is coming straight from Canada at breakneck speed, so it's not exactly pleasant out. But it's sunny! Hooray!

Hooray for alone!

kathy a. said...

Happy birthday, QWP!

W: I got a scam "wind0ws technical department" call at 7:15 a.m., before I'd even had any coffee at all.

Sue said...

Scam callers before coffee??? That's wrong on so many levels.

kathy a. said...

Of course, that early I thought it was likely to be my SIL's facility or a doctor calling because she had fallen again. Because who the fireplace else calls that early?

esperanza said...

W: Sunshine lasted for 30 minutes.

kathy a. said...

Zero sun here today. On the up side, Rain!

I've so far signed 10 holiday cards, which is not very impressive. But I may soon acquire stamps, too!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday QWP!!!!!!
--NL

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Thank you for the birthday greetings, Pixies! I'm sorry about the Canadian winds, early-morning scammers, and lack of sunshine you all are experiencing today.

E woke up feeling all better! She was well enough that we were all able to spend the morning shopping the giant wholesale store, and then the afternoon at the cellphone store. I have a new phone! It it very fun. I think I have it mostly figured out now.

Anonymous said...

YAY! So glad to hear that E was feeling better! Glad you got to have a fun birthday!
:) NL

Queen of West Procrastination said...

W: we were supposed to go to the local science centre this morning, with E's little besties (twins who are 7 months older than her), but she woke up absolutely crotchety. She was crying about all the little things, and I called up the twins' mom to see where they were at, and it turned out that her two older girls woke up sick and need to stay home from school. So: trip to the science centre postponed. And the crotchety child is even harder to handle now. My head hurts so much.

But I'm glad that I can make the decision not to drag my kid (who is still just recovering from whatever that is that she had this week) outside on a morning with a -36C/-32F windchill. I just really need to come up with an indoor activity that is fun enough to cheer her up. (So far, every suggestion has been rejected angrily. At least there's some silence right now, because I let her watch a kids' show on my new phone. I'm in full-on "whatever works" mode right now.)

Liz Miller said...

Happy belated birthday, QWP!!!

Sorry about the science center trip. Whatever works is always the way to go on days like today.

One thing that worked for me on days like that is to start a project I wanted to do that I thought MM might like as well, but not ask him if he wants to. I would just say, "Well, I feel like making cookies" and start doing it (or bread dough figures, or whatever) and he'd generally join in, because who doesn't like making cookies (or bread dough figures, or whatever), especially when you're not being asked if you want to?

kathy a. said...

Sorry about postponing the science center!

Cranky indoor days are made for more screen time, IMO. We ended up with an impressive collection of videotapes (that's how old my kids are -- raised on obsolete tech) for such trying times.

Liz's ideas are also great -- as is announcing this is happening, and letting her join.

I kept a lot of potential art supplies around, because entertaining 2 kids who didn't necessarily want to do the same thing meant we needed choices. But it is easier near the holidays, because anything they did was FESTIVE! Different colored pipe cleaners became ornaments (and you can add colorful beads). Strips of colorful paper can be glued or stapled to make garlands. Any materials at hand can become a christmas card. We also decorated small wreaths, etc. Painting and gluing things on cardboard (or pre-cut wooden shapes) was also fun for ornaments -- I still have some featuring ribbon scraps, beans, etc.

xoxo

kathy a. said...

I should borrow some little kids. We sure miss having them around!

Sue said...

Sorry about the science trip being postponed, but as you mentioned, when it's -36C an indoor activity is a good thing.

Do you have any Christmas gifts to wrap? E could have the important job of holding the tape because seriously, that stuff moves away as soon as you put it down!

AW: We're going to a nice restaurant with my two local sisters and their partners tonight. Just the six of us and we're both really looking forward to it. We usually get together when there are roughly a million kids, grandkids, and assorted significant others. A quiet dinner will be nice.

Also, hubby called the sisters this morning to ask them to buy my stocking stuffers this year. He likes to put local specialties and other fun things in my sock, and some of the stores aren't accessible. FIL usually does the honours, but this year he's got so much going on. If I know my sisters, they will have way too much fun with this... :)

p_k said...

W: We are iced in today, so we can't have the little party we had planned with extended family for N's birthday.

AW/W: My baby is 3 today!

kathy a. said...

Sue, that sounds like a wonderful dinner! And yes, bet your sisters go to town with the "assignment." :)

p_k said...

W/AW: My baby is 3 years old today! And we are iced in, so can't do the planned family gathering today, but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and we have quite a little crowd scheduled to show up for birthday festivities tomorrow.

esperanza said...

W: Feeling nostalgic. Mini chose to ride bikes with the neighbor friends instead of stay home and make the traditional gingerbread cookies.

kathy a. said...

PK! Happy birthday to the little one!!

Esperanza -- as I recall, the gingerbread extravaganza can continue into the decorating phase at a later time, no?

esperanza said...

AW: Friend had to go inside, so Mini came and did a few cookies. We decorate them with M&M's (or "enemas," if you're Mini), so they need to be put on first. It also cuts down on the disgusting-ness of grade school germs, when they are cooked post-decorating.

kathy a. said...

YAY! We used to just call them "M's" -- why be redundant? -- and they are great for decorating!

kathy a. said...

AW: My beloved had work to the north, and stopped to see his sister. And she's doing OK! Walking better, some of her speech is more understandable, and best of all, no agitation. She signed a card for her son, and he says you can almost make out the L in "Love, Mom." Better than expected, anyway. Gotta celebrate the small.

xoxo

kathy a. said...

AW: Tonight is an annual fundraiser reception, where we raise money for a do-good organization in the South. W: The person in charge was late with invitations, so people got them only a week ago. It is the busy holiday season. It is pouring rain. I'm worried we'll have like 3 guests. SIGH. Crossing fingers folks come, anyway.

Liz Miller said...

We ended up giving MM most of his phone privileges back because his behavior/grades got worse instead of better and he was feeling isolated and it wasn't working.

On the plus side, we got some concessions out of him to get them restored, ie: Daily Shower, phone blackout times, will try out some ideas we have given him on taking notes re: assignments due, and will accompany us to a family therapist so we can break the yelling cycle.

Anonymous said...

Liz, hugs to you. SOunds like a good compromise!
Hope things improve.
--Neighbor Lady

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Liz, that sounds like a wise compromise. I hope you guys can find something that works for getting MM on track.

Kathy: I'm glad that SIL was having a lucid day and was able to sign her card!

p_k said...

3yo's party today was a success. Except that H was supposed to make arrangements for someone to pick up the 3 older kids at 6:30 so I wouldn't have to leave the party or cut it short to take them to an event he bought tickets for them to see him perform. Person didn't show up, and when we finally contacted them at 6:45 they hadn't even left home yet. It's a 12-minute drive from their house to ours and then a 20-minute drive to the event location. Event started at 7. So, sucker that I am, I ended up dropping everything and shooing my guests out the door with their dinner half finished so I could take the kids to their dad's event that he was supposed to be providing transport for. By the time we got everyone and their stuff in the car, I got them there 10-15 minutes after it started. Huge stress/adrenaline rush. Now I'm even more exhausted than I otherwise would have been.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

So many hugs, PK. I'm glad that the 3yo party was a success. Is it my paranoia speaking, or did H make this happen, in the hopes that you'd somehow be the bad guy with the kids?

p_k said...

I think he just didn't bother to confirm that the transporter got his message. The kids didn't seem to think it was my fault at all.

I was also able to trade days with STBX so that the big important event was during my time, not his, so the kid doesn't have to miss it.

kathy a. said...

Yay, Liz! Engaged parenting in action! I especially like negotiations because then everybody has to hold up their ends of the bargain.

PK, it sounds like a lovely party! But I'm still posse-ing up for your STBX. It is HIS problem, getting the other kids to an event he arranged. Period.

AW: The fundraising thing was wonderful! Saw lots of old friends in the work, people I miss and don't see enough. omg, so much wonderful food. And, a fabulous youth jazz band performed. The turnout wasn't quite so much as hoped -- but somebody dropped a MAJOR check on this organization we all support. So, I think it was a financial success, too. Yay! (Also, the rain stopped before the event.)

Anonymous said...

Yay for the event Kathy a!
And, happy birthday to p_k's littlest!
--NL

p_k said...

Liz, that sounds like a parenting win to me. I hope family counseling helps.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hey, remember on Wednesday, when E had a bit of a fever and acting generally like she was on her deathbed? Guess who now has all those symptoms? I'd fireplacing better wake up better in the morning, like she did.

esperanza said...

Yes, yes you should. Sorry you feel crummy.

kathy a. said...

This site started in 2007. Which is now a long time ago.

xoxo