Meeting Brazilian Artist, Totonho

Dancer and a few other homeschoolers from our area, including Jake, got to meet and create a work of art with Brazilian artist, Totonho. http://totonho.com

Nickel and Dimed to Death

Another year of service at Kohl's was only worth 17 cents! Nickel and dimed to death!  And so unappreciated.

Thunderstorm

Love the thunderstorm I'm listening to right now.

My daughter...

I woke up thinking about my newly teenaged daughter this morning.  My reason for getting up so early was because of her (she had golf lessons this morning), so I had a good enough reason for her to be on my mind.  But really, I woke up thinking about what I would have been doing 13 years ago today.  I would have still been in that yucky hospital room but my precious new baby would have been in my arms.

I remember that on the day she was born, Carrie Strug was winning a gold medal on vault (landing on one leg no less) in the summer Olympics.  I remember that when the nurses were finally able to bring my baby girl to me, that she never left my bed (except for the few times I needed to use the bathroom).  My girl was a co-sleeper right from the start.  I never planned it that way but it was so natural.  Where else would I expect my precious one to sleep but next to me.  She had just come from the warmth and comfort of my belly and it only felt right that she would want the warmth and comfort of my arms.

We were co-sleepers until she decided to sleep in her own room.  I think my mom tried to bribe her at one point (butt out mom!).  She was probably around 9 when she didn't sleep with me every night.  I miss being able to reach out and feel her breath and touch her face when she sleeps.  I miss the little girl but love this big girl that has taken her place.  She's so strong and sure of herself.  She's nothing like many of the teenagers I meet (or hear parents bitching about... quit bitching about your kids!).  I've always figured that we all have our bad days and our bad moments, so our family is no different in that way.  What is different is our respect for our daughter and in turn, her respect for us.

All of this to say, I woke up thinking about my beautiful daughter today.

Happy Learn Nothing Day to all of the Unschoolers!

All unschoolers know that there is learning in everything. We all know that we can't go a day without learning something. I dare you to try it! But we happily celebrate our freedom on Learn Nothing Day... our very own holiday! Yeah! Love to all of the unschoolers out there! Keep rockin the RU lifestyle!

I really hate my job

I have been feeling sick to my stomach since late last night... it's from the stress of knowing that I have to go back into work tonight. Even my face is breaking out because of the stress.

Just had someone call off of work tonight.  Have I mentioned how much I hate my job.  I feel like i'm going to be sick.

My baby is a teenager!

Last year I posted Dancer's birth story here on my blog.

...So, what can I say. This beautiful girl, named after her dad and aunt (my sister) stormed into my world and my heart and took over. She’s the best kid. Never caused me any fuss. Is fun and quirky and a pure joy to be around (most of the time). Has changed me forever. Is so resilient, she doesn’t seem negatively affected by the time that it took me and her dad to get a life and grow up. I miss the littleness of her toddler years. I miss the silliness of her early childhood years. But I love her years now, she’s fun and quirky and doesn’t need watching all of the time (thank goodness that stage does eventually pass). Instead of her insights being cute like they were when she was little… now, I find many of them profound. That light in her eyes still glows brightly, thank God for her resilience, having been spared from the strangeness and worldliness that goes on in school now-a-days and from many of life’s pains that too many kids are exposed to (I think because both Dodger and I are from divorced families, that we worked harder at staying together, even through all of the shit we put each other through). She still loves imagination games and playing with boys, boys seem to be more into her imagination games. She’s taller than me now… just one more person in the house for me to ask for help in reaching things… lol. She loves sports, watching them and playing them. She loves animals and learning about places around the world...

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Happy Birthing day to me!

I hate my job

I hate my freakin' job. Time to finish up that app that I started for another job.

Corporate doesn't have a clue... it's just more cut-backs in people and hours and more to do. It's ridiculous. It can't be done! Besides, I have repeatedly stepped up and done more than what's required of me and I repeatedly get just *meets expectations* on my yearly reviews. It took them 5-1/2 years to recognize my hard work! 5-1/2 years of watching person after person on ad set team get employee of the month... people who had been with Kohl's less than a year! Now, with losing our ad set supervisor and me stepping in (because there is no one else that knows how to run things) and the stress it's caused me... it's the last straw.

Ad set doesn't get to just go in and go home when they are scheduled to. They never give enough people to do the job in that amount of time. We are always staying late. Ad set must be done. It's what drives the company. Signing has to be right. We also have some really crappy workers on ad set.... stupid people that don't know when they work. Meaning we just have people that don't show up. That means the rest of us have to stay even later.

Ad set is not like a regular employee who can show up and go home when the schedule tells them to. nope. Got to stay till it's done.

She loves tennis

Taking the Dancer to her last tennis lesson of the summer. She's bummed. She really loves tennis.

Plumbing

Dodger has been working on our plumbing issues.

A dozen directions

I am so so tired of being pulled in a dozen or more different directions.  I don't know what I want anymore.

Heading to work on my day off again

Heading to work on my day off again soon.  Did that yesterday.  Prepping for tomorrow night with only 4 of us there.

It's time to find a new job!

It's 3:15am, I just got home from work 30 min ago. I worked all night without a break... didn't have one on Sun night either.

One of the ladies who was supposed to work just went on vacation, didn't ask for the time off and didn't tell anyone that she wasn't going to be able to work tonight.

She's also supposed to work this Fri, but she won't be back by then. That leaves 4 of us to do the whole store. I'm going to go in to work for a few hours Wed and Thurs to scan and print signs ahead of time so maybe we can just put up when we come in early on Fri.

It's been pure chaos since the mess that happened last week.

I better get to bed. 9am will come really early. Dancer has swim lessons at 10:30.

Quoting Truth: John Holt

"In a nutshell, people whose lives are hard, boring, painful, meaningless—people who suffer—tend to resent those who seem to suffer less than they do, and will make them suffer if they can. People who feel themselves in chains, with no hope of ever getting them off, want to put chains on everyone else." —John Holt, Teach Your Own

Homeschool Cooperative

My days have been busy, busy, busy helping to get our new local homeschooling support group and cooperative off the ground.  Let me tell you, it's been a journey. I have seen the worst of some people through all of this. I have grown as a person. My patience has been challenged. I have also found some diamonds in the rough.

I am very excited for the future of our new group. The universe keeps placing stepping stones before us and removing barriers.

Now it's time for me to get back to work. There's much more to do and there's deadlines to be met.