What I didn't do this weekend (volume 4)

This weekend I did not go to see "Wicked" (a musical "Wizard of Oz" prequel/tie-in, for those unfamiliar with it). The show has been in the region for about a month, and this was it's last weekend. Oh well. On a brighter note, a movie I wanted to see made it to the dollar theater, so I went with a friend to see it. I also made it back to church for the first time post-baby. Last time I went it was me plus three kids; this time it was me plus four. On the surface, it seems like I didn't learn anything from the multi-week vacation I obviously required after the three kid run. In reality, I looked at it as a rather desperate act of faith; here's hoping, anyway.

Puppy guarding in the parking lot

The shopping center up the road from us is getting a facelift (complete with a bigger version of our existing grocery store), and during the current construction phase, most of the parking area on the west side (where the current grocery store is) has been blocked off. Consequently, the remaining areas of parking lot are a little busier than usual. I didn't realize just how busy, though, until on my way out of the store today. As soon as I got to the car, another car parked and hovered in the aisle, showing all the other cars that my spot was already reserved for someone else. Now, I've seen puppy guarding before, but today's case was a bit extreme. Yes, I did have a good spot, but I had just barely gotten to the car and still had a cart full of groceries to load, plus a baby to buckle into a car seat; not exactly a quick parking spot to grab. I can't help but wonder how much money the gas cost that got burnt while the other vehicle waited. Maybe next time I should try auctioning off my spot. :)

What I didn't do this weekend (volume 3)

This weekend's event to miss was the weekend Wal-mart trip. The weekly (or biweekly or whatever) Wal-mart trip is one of the main events in our regular lives, our big chance to all get out into the world (all= me +kids; Dad is out just about every day and doesn't much care for shopping). However, we were not so deprived as we might have been. Dad got back from a week out of town on Friday and sponsored a dinner & a movie night (via the local Chinese place and Blockbuster) as a reward for Amanda doing school work all week. Amanda even got a minute or two to peek into a pet store, which makes up for our lack of fish-viewing at Wal-mart. I think we'll survive a few more hours without Wal-mart. :)

What I didn't do this weekend (volume 2)

This weekend's big event to miss was graduation. But wait, you say, didn't I just spend last weekend not going to my class reunion, which means that I already graduated? Yes, but this was another graduation, my third major academic graduation. The good news, though, is that 1) my second graduation was pretty much guaranteed to be like the third would have been, minus a bit of extra ceremony and 2) one of my nephews graduated from the same school and can tell me all about what I missed when he comes to visit next month. What I actually did this weekend: attended our family's annual event, a friend's birthday party. We've been to every one of her parties, and every one of our kids has been to at least one of them. All in all, a weekend well spent. :) (and the school will send my diploma in the mail eventually whether I attended graduation or not)

3 a.m., my new favorite time of day

Why that time of day? That's the average time that new baby decides to sleep for a four hour stretch, following a minimum (emphasis on "minimum") of one hour spent screaming, filling diapers, trying to burp, thinking about eating, etc. *sigh*

At this point, I'm in "grateful zombie" mode, when everything seems overwhelming and I am profoundly grateful for everything and anything that actually goes right. However, I know from experience that, untreated, "grateful zombie" mode eventually turns to scary, cranky zombie mode, which is just plain scary. I guess the biggest thing I should be grateful for at this point is that Amanda will be in afternoon kindergarten, which means I can still catch up on sleep in the morning (in theory, at least). *sigh*

School registration time

Today Amanda and Jared and I went on a little adventure to Amanda's new school to turn in her registration papers. The office folks were at lunch when we got there, so we spent a little while walking around and seeing where things are, like the kindergarten classrooms, the school library, the cafeteria, etc. Someone who knew where the office people were hiding had pity on us and summoned someone to help us, at which point we got to meet the school guinea pigs while the paperwork got processed. Turned out we were just in time: the big, critical pre-school events begin tomorrow with the school supply sale, where the mandatory calculator may be purchased. I remember way back when when I was in school and didn't have to have a calculator until middle school; and then the school had a stock of them to use. Didn't "have" to buy one until high school when I got a graphing calculator (which was fun to program . . . and also useful for actually doing work). The funniest part of it all is that basic calculators didn't even exist, at least certainly not for common use, when Amanda's grandparents were in school, hence Grandmother's semi-sarcastic question: "So, what do they need for 1st grade? A laptop?" Ah, the encroachment of technology into our daily lives. :) If nothing else, though, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that my child could add, subtract, and multiply BEFORE she got a calculator. :)

A proposed tax on those who cut through yards

It seems only reasonable that if your neighbors cut across your yard carrying yummy fast food that said neighbors should be prepared to share the food with you. :)

What I didn't do this weekend (volume 1)

This weekend I did not attend my class reunion. (This is different from other non-reunion weekends in that there was actually a reunion held for me to not attend.) Not because I don't still have family there (I do), or because I didn't want to go (I did), but rather because of a whole bunch of other stuff my readers are probably already aware of. Therefore, I am glad that other people who went have posted stuff on Facebook (thanks, other people!). It's all rather odd, seeing everyone so long after the fact, especially those people I haven't actually seen since high school (let alone the ones it's only been a couple of years since I've seen). Fun, though. I feel I have an unfair advantage, getting to see and size everyone up while remaining invisible myself. :) A lot has happened since that graduation way back when (to say the least). And, speaking of graduations, stay tuned next week for the next installment of "What I didn't do this weekend": skipping graduation. (Who knew there'd be so much to not do this month? :)

Natural fireworks . . . and the occasion?

We had a thunderstorm early this morning. A big one. Really big, with a few simultaneous lightning bolts and thunder claps in the mix. So, we asked ourselves, what was the big occasion? It wasn't the fourth of July today, but the fourth of August. Natural fireworks for President Obama's birthday, maybe? Who knows.