33tekfan’s Weblog

How does nearly a week go by without my even realizing it?  About twenty times a day I think “I need to go write something….” and then the thought is gone as quickly as it came.

So….the field trip.  From hell.  It wasn’t all bad - I will get to the good part in a minute - but it was too L-O-N-G.  The whole point of leaving so early, as I understood it, was to prevent the feeling of being rushed through the day - but it didn’t work.  We raced through our day and had a busload of tired, cranky kids (and parents!) on the way home. 

The best part of the day was this:

Our tour of Fenway Park.  Unfortunately, there was no chance I’d actually *see* Varitek since the team was in Baltimore.  But still.  We had a super tour guide named Ed.  Although we were not allowed on the field level, we still had a nice tour of the Right Field Roof deck, the luxury suites, the press box, the Green Monster, and the grandstand.  While in the press box, we were able to sit and listen to Ed tell us a lot of history about Fenway Park.  He would ask questions, and I knew almost every answer - he stopped picking me to answer after the first couple.  The only answer I didn’t know was the date Ted Williams hit his record home run.  I thought it was 1947 - turns out, it was 1946.  When the tour was over, I shook our guide’s hand and thanked him and he said “Stay such a good fan - you know everything!”  Of course, the Diva rolled her eyes dramatically which made him laugh.

Two new facts I learned about Fenway:  The color of the Green Monster, literally named Green Monster Green, is trademarked and not available for purchase by anyone outside of a handful of Fenway employees.  Although there is a color available for general purchase that comes close, Fenway Green, it is not exactly the same.  Fact number two:  Tom and Jean Yawkey had their initials in morse code painted on two of the vertical white lines on the scoreboard.  I tried taking a picture of them but since I’m not allowed to use the “good camera” unless surrounded by mattresses and pillows (due to my um, lack of grace), I had to use the old outdated model that doesn’t zoom for crap.  So it really just looks like I was taking a picture of the scoreboard.  I can see the little dashes and dots on the white lines but only because I know what to look for and where.  Anyone else?  Not so much.

Here is the Diva (the blonde one) looking less than thrilled to be sitting on the Green Monster:

Sometimes I wonder how this non-baseball lover could be my child?!  I mean, I WAS under general anesthesia when she was born…and because there was no coaching to be done under the circumstances, her dad wasn’t in the delivery room either.  If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s like me IN EVERY OTHER WAY, I think I might have a case against the hospital.

After Fenway, it was on to The Museum of Science.  This is when our scheduling took a turn for the worse.  Eat lunch on the bus.  Have about 45 minutes in the museum before all meeting up for the electricity show.  Have another hour or so before meeting up again for the show in the Omni Theater.  Then about another hour before boarding the bus for the return trip home.  It just wasn’t enough time to see all there is to see in the museum.  I was in charge of two girls - the Diva and one of her friends - and they wanted to see it all!  We raced here and there and back to here - until I suggested that perhaps it would be a better use of their time to see everything they wanted to on one floor before moving on to the next.  When we got back on the bus, I heard conversations between the kids consisting of alot of “DId you see…?”  “No, but did you see…?”  “No, where was that?”.  It made me realize just how much EVERYONE seemed to miss, but they were so pressed for time that there was no avoiding it, I guess.

In  other news:  The Captain got his first little league hit.  His first hit not pitched by a coach in Farm League.  His first hit that got him on base.  Where was I, you ask?  Doing my time in the snack shack.  Every parent has to do 6 innings in the concession stand.  Our team chooses to do 3 innings at a time so we don’t miss a whole game.  I did the first three innings of the game, and got back to my chair at the top of the 4th, to see my son standing on first base.  Jokingly I said “Oh no - my kid’s on base - did he get hit again?”  I was assured by the other parents that he did not, but no one gave me any other information.  In fact, MY SON didn’t even tell me until later that evening.  He had waited so long to tell me, and he is somewhat of an imp, that I didn’t even believe him at first!  His coach, our pharmacist, did re-tell the story when he saw the Postman in the store the next day so I guess I have to admit that I did indeed miss his big moment.  Yet another example of how I rock.

This is what happens when I don’t write for so long…so I’ll end for now.

Hope all is good in your worlds!

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

The Diva decided recently (11 days ago to be exact) that she is going to be a vegetarian.  Since it has lasted about 10 days longer than I thought it would, I have bought her some soy products to replace her meat at dinner. 

Last night I decided to make a favorite dish of ours, sans meat.  It is a Mexican Lasagna and the only difference was that I did not mix ground beef into the refried beans before I put it all together and baked it.  The Diva was at the barn so I prepared dinner for the rest of us with the intention of keeping some warm for her.  The Captain and the Postman came to the table, took one look at it and asked what was wrong with it.  “Nothing”, I replied.  “I just left the meat out for the Diva.  There’s no reason we can’t all skip the meat once in a while.”

I have never seen such sad faces in my entire life - along with the mumbled “Why do WE have to suffer just because she doesn’t want to eat meat?”  My son even scraped the refried beans into a pile on the side of his plate and refused to eat them - although he has eaten them plenty of times before when the meat was present.  I have my own lion pride - albeit a small one.

On the other end of the spectrum, when the Diva came home she was genuinely happy that I made a meal for all of us that she could eat also.  “Really, there’s no meat in it?  Thank you, Mumma!”

So I guess the old adage is true:  you can please some of the people all the time, all the people some of the time, but never all the people all of the time!  So again, I realize it’s all about balance.

Vegetarian:  A person who eats only side dishes.  ~Gerald Lieberman

Remember yesterday when I said I was looking forward to a day with nothing planned?  That didn’t pan out for me.

The last time I checked the weather it was supposed to be rainy and dreary today - a perfect day for being indoors.  It turned out to be sunny and breezy, but still nice enough to be outside.  So after a morning of cleaning the house, and 20 billion loads of laundry, the Postman came home from visiting his dad with the announcement that “THE CORN MUST BE PLANTED TODAY.”  His mom and dad have two small gardens that they plant every year.  Since he is not well this year, the planting has fallen to us.  I suspect the entire project will fall to us as I really don’t see the Postman’s dad being well enough to weed, harvest, and empty the garden in the fall.  But who knows.  Anyway, his dad has been talking about the stupid corn  - and how it needs to be planted NOW - for days.  So today was the day.  I think mostly just so P-Man could say it was done.  (In fact, we all went back to visit his dad later this afternoon, specifically to tell him that the corn was in the ground.  Amen.)

I have never planted anything in my life.  Seriously.  I have, in the past, bought plants and/or flowers, and relocated them from pots to the ground.  Then they die.  Always.  I do not have a green thumb.  At all.  We’ll see how this all turns out later this summer.  Maybe since P-Man and the Captain were in on it, the plants won’t know that I was there too and they will grow.

I spent this evening and tonight working since I spent a lot of time with P-Man’s parents last week - IV hookups, doctor appointments, and then the return trip to the hospital via the ER - which took hours.  I have my end of month deadline looming closer than I’m ready for so I need to buckle down in order to get it all finished.

Good news on the baseball front - the Captain did not get hit by a pitch in this weekend’s game!  Woohoo! 

Hope you all had fantastic weekends!

There aren’t enough days in the weekend.  ~Rod Schmidt

This is the Captain being hit by a pitch - AGAIN!  I really need to teach that kid to duck!  This time it was on the back part of his arm, near his shoulder.  It was actually warm to the touch after it happened.  So he took his base - and stole second again.  After being hit, his team rallied and ended up winning 14-12.  His coach gave him a game ball for “Taking one for the team”. 

I had a really nice Mother’s Day.  The Diva painted a plant pot for me and The Captain made me a very cool glass trivet. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.  ~Lisa Alther

Spring always seems to be the busiest time of year for us and this one is shaping up to be no different.

P-Man’s dad has been in the hospital - yes, again - since last Wednesday.  Good news though!  His team of doctors have diagnosed him!  It is a rare infection that is slow growing, and in return, hard to kill.  He is going to be on antibiotics for at least 6 months.  For three weeks after he comes home he will need them to be administered through a PICC line, then he can switch to the oral form of the medication.  If a family member felt confident enough to learn the procedure, he could stay at home and not have to travel to the hospital three times a day for the infusion.   My name came up as a candidate for the position…and since I was unopposed - I win!  For three weeks, I will head over to their house at 6:00AM, 2:00PM, and 10:00PM to administer his antibiotic.  It seems like a fairly easy process - wipe off each port with alcohol, flush the line, hook up the tubing and let him sit there for an hour and a half while the miracle drug flows into his body.  Then I reverse the process upon completion of the infusion.  When I look at it written down, I must admit that it is a little daunting.  But this will save him from having to be driven to the hospital every 8 hours. Or worse, have to be in a short term care unit for the three weeks.  He gets to be in his own home.  And really?  I’m glad I can help out. 

Then there’s all the kid stuff. 

My daughter had an appointment with the optometrist last week and besides her need for glasses, he saw a “freckle” in her eye.  He kept looking at it, then he would continue on with the exam…then he would look at the freckle again.  He even tried to help ME look at it through all his equipment.  Then he pulled out a reference book to try to find a picture.  Then he decided she needs to see a specialist for a second opinion.  I should clarify that he stressed that it is probably nothing…but to be sure, he’d like another opinion.  That has me a wee bit stressed out.  I try not to let things like this bother me until I have the facts straight up.  I’m generally pretty black and white; there’s not a lot of grey area with me.  But…HOLY CRAP…this is HER EYE.

My son has baseball nearly every day this week.  Last night he was very discouraged because he did not get a hit at all during practice.  Baseball is not shaping up to be his strongest sport but he tries so hard!  Tonight he got on base.  He walked (which I think is just fine - he knows when NOT to swing)…and he got nailed in the head with a pitch.  Yeah.  My heart immediately went into my throat and the mom next to me grabbed my arm.  He didn’t fall down (Really?  They are 9 and 10 years old so it’s not like a Beckett fastball was coming toward his head.  But still.)…and he headed down to first without so much as a cringe or an “ow!”.  He even stole second after that.  Needless to say, his confidence improved and he was a happy kid after tonight’s game.  Who knew getting hit in the head was the key to happiness?

Mix in the fact that I have a household to keep in order and a J-O-B to do, and it’s been crazy , crazy, crazy.  Thankfully the Postman has covered making dinner every night.  Oh…and?  Thursday is teacher appreciation day at one of the schools.  The PTO president asked if I could make a breakfast item or a dessert.  Since I am an overachiever a moron, I said I would do one of each.  Go me.

And that’s all there is that’s fit to print in my corner of the world today.

Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds.  ~George Santayana

One hoodie, one fleece coat, a scarf, gloves, and a fleece blanket.

For baseball outside on the first day of May.

O, wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Dear Dunkin’ Donuts,

One hour and 5 minutes for 3 bagel sandwiches is highly unreasonable.  I understand you run out of things sometimes - although on a Sunday morning?  Really?  You couldn’t predict you’d be busy on a Sunday morning at 10:00AM?  Ok…I’ll drive to the OTHER Dunkin’ Donuts in town.  Except, well even though they weren’t out of anything, they weren’t especially speedy.  Customer Service doesn’t seem to be a priority for you so as much as I love your product, I think you’ll find me at Tim Horton’s from now on.

Sincerely,

A disgruntled customer

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Dear Target,

I didn’t mean to shop lift.  Truly, I didn’t.  The fact that I’ve spent about $150 at your store in the last several days should indicate that I didn’t mean to walk out without paying for the $1.49 shoelaces.

I must have been holding them in the same hand as my keys, and when I needed both hands to help my son pick out a new baseball glove I put my keys - and the laces - in my pocket.  When we got home, I was mortified to find them when I reached into my pocket.

The thing is?  I live 40 minutes away from you.  At $3.57 a gallon, driving back to pay for the laces seems somewhat absurd.  But I believe in karma, so what I’m going to do is make an extra charitable donation this month.  Deal?  Good.  Thanks for understanding.

Sincerely,

A most apologetic customer (who loves Target WAY more than Wal-hell*)

*Stolen Borrowed from Morgan.

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Dear Postman,

You rock.  Thank you for putting together the Captain’s pitch back, and tightly strapping his new glove.  I spent 5 years doing all of that by myself (not always with great results!) and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it when you help my kids with things like that.  I know they appreciate it, too.

I love you more,

Me

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Dear Captain and Diva,

I missed you!  I am glad you had a nice time with your dad, but I am also glad you are home! 

Love you lots,

Mom

To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.  ~Phyllis Theroux

A co-worker had us laughing with a story about her 4 year old asking was E.D. is. You know…from the Viagra commercials? At the time, I had wondered why my kids had never asked.

It finally happened. And I was ready.

The Captain, while watching tv yesterday: “Mom, what is an erection?”

Me: “Postman! Come in here, the Captain has a question for you!”

I am nothing if not prepared.

Sex is God’s joke on human beings. ~Bette Davis

At dinner tonight, the Postman noticed the Diva’s bedroom light was on. We are trying to instill a “turn off all things unnecessary” rule in our house but it is definitely an uphill battle for us. The Diva will head to her bathroom from the living room…and turn on the kitchen light as she passes through…then the hallway light…then her bedroom light…and finally the actual bathroom light. Yes, she will turn on all those lights just to pass through those areas.

So when he noticed the light on, he asked her to get up and go turn it off. I asked if her brother’s light was also on (since she was already up), and at that my son’s friend, Mas, says “No, I turned it off when we left his room. At our house, we turn off all the lights when we leave a room.”

Me: “How on earth did your mom and step-dad accomplish that?”

Mas: “Hmmm…well, they beat us.”

Postman: “Sweet. We can do that.”

I expect our electric bill will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower next month.

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light? ~Maurice Freehill

Hockey has begun again.

The Captain came off the ice tonight and his eyes were damp - probably from watering because it was so cold. His eyelashes had frost on them. As his eyes watered, it froze on his eyelashes.

Someday, when he’s choosing my nursing home, I hope he looks back on his youth and remembers that his mom (who abhors the cold), stood out there every Tuesday and Thursday night supporting him. In the cold. It better be a really nice nursing home.

Don’t go through life without goals. ~Hockey Saying