Lex’s first time voting!

Local and primary elections were today and Lex coincidentally happened to be home between terms, so I took him to vote! Last night we reviewed the ballots, discussed the candidates, did some research on the additional budget questions, and made a plan to vote. He was pretty into it. Today after work (me) and DND (him), we went over to the high school. He was already registered, so it was quick and easy to get the ballots and fill them out. Weirdly, there was a huge line for the tabulator machines! We waited for a little over a half an hour, chatting about all sorts of things, then it was our turn. I asked the poll worker standing by the machine if I would be allowed to take a picture, she said sure, then congratulated Lex on his first time voting. 😄

I’m proud of this young man and I’m happy that I got to experience grownup milestone with him. 🇺🇲

Teenagers

This evening I:

  1. discussed the definition of “done” with the middle teen (hint: homework is not “done” if you just have a plan to do it on Thursday and haven’t actually DONE it), discussed why failing grades are not ok, and dropped hints about the consequences that will be forthcoming if said grades do not improve soon;
  2. discussed with the oldest what tomorrow’s town ballot will look like, researched several ballot questions, and made a plan to take him to vote;
  3. and delicately broke the news to the youngest that her bestie and her new brother (along with two other people) are at a fun event tonight and that, although she wasn’t invited, it might come up in conversation at their DND game tomorrow.

Calm and chaos looks a little different with teens (more emotional, less rambunctious), but it’s still there!

Me

Hi. It’s me. With kids growing and doing their own teenage things and all, I have less adorable kid things to post about. So, here’s a post about me. Maybe.

I signed up for a personal trainer this week. I have been feeling pretty crappy about my physical fitness lately. My new job is less stress, but also gets me WAY fewer steps each day! Lots of sitting on my butt. So I’ve gained even more weight. And my sciatic pain is starting to return. 😭 Between that and the spare monster truck tire around my midsection, I think I’ve lost control of my physical situation. So, I emailed the gym (that I rarely go to) and asked about personal training. They set me up with a trainer who goes by they/them and looks like they would fit in just fine with my teenagers! I haven’t decided yet if that’s good or bad. LOL. I had my first session yesterday and they were very nice. It sort of felt good to be back in the gym again, but also was way embarrassing. I scheduled another session for tomorrow. I gotta get my shi!t together before too much longer. I’m not getting any younger. That said, I’m several glasses in to a bottle of wine at the moment. So…. 🤷🏻‍♂️

On other fronts, work is going well, though still pretty boring. People gush about how great I am and how much they love having me at the library. I’m happy for the change of pace and more flexible schedule. Definitely miss the kids and friends at DBS though. And I’d love to find a middle ground on the pace of things. Not too slow, but not as fast as school either. The “Goldilocks Zone” of employment responsibilities. LOL.

I’ve been parenting teens lately. One is struggling with life and failing multiple classes because busy work is boring. Not wrong, but not ok either. He got fired from his job for just not going. He’s excited for an FRC event this weekend, and I was really hoping he’d get his butt to school this week so I didn’t have to think up any consequences (like missing the FRC event!). Thankfully he did! The other one is a tidal wave of emotions. We were at the doctor the other day and got a low dose prescription for anxiety meds. So far, no change. (but it’s only been a few days) She completely fell apart this afternoon and couldn’t bring herself to make it to work. I literally drove her there and we sat in the parking lot for 10 minutes while she cried and talked about how horrible her job is and what an rough life she has. I wanted to scream, “KIDS THESE DAYS!?!” but I didn’t. Instead I bought myself a bottle of wine. Sigh.

The third kid, really the first kid!, is so far away that I don’t see his ups and downs anymore. He is super busy with school and music, but he’s always happy to have family chats and will be coming home for a week next week. I can’t wait to squeeze him again. He loves me and I love him and I love that he loves me. I’m a lucky momma. 💗

I guess that’s enough rambling for tonight. I just tried to find a good photo to add to this post, but all my pics lately are quite boring. Sigh.

Anyway, that’s all for tonight. Love you all! 💗💗

WPI BBALL

I took Eve and Simon on a road trip yesterday down to WPI to watch a women’s basketball game. More accurately, E & S agreed to come with me to WPI to watch a pep band concert with a side of basketball. LOL. We have lots of fun. We took Lex out to lunch before the game, then took a little campus tour with him afterwards. The game was great, both teams played hard and kept the score very close throughout the whole game. WPI ended up losing in the last few seconds. The band played loud and often. I loved it!

Here’s a playlist with seven videos. Check your sound volume, click the play button, and settle in for the show!

February updates

Hi all. Happy February! It’s been awhile, so I thought I’d pop in and post some updates, in no particular order.

New Car

The old Ford Focus Electric (2014) drove it’s last mile two weeks ago. The battery was holding less and less charge, but we were getting by and it was keeping the teenagers close to home. :) One day they were trying to get somewhere and the car gave an error message saying “Stop Safely Now” and wouldn’t drive. A little Googling that evening taught us that the error message is an all encompassing message Ford uses when there’s an issue with some system or another. The only way to fix it is to get it to a shop and have them “hook it up to the machine for diagnostics.” Unfortunately we couldn’t’ drive it to the dealership, though fortunately it was stuck in the garage and not on the side of the road. I paid for a tow truck to take it to the mechanic and two days later was told that the high voltage cables that run through the car in a sort of haphazard way (just that particular model, others are done better) are corroding. The estimated cost of the repairs was $4,500! I asked what the alternative was and they said I could pay to have it towed back to my house and pay the $800 diagnostic fee!! Ha! I said aw hell no. I ended up selling the car to the dealership for the price of the diagnostic bill and walked away from the whole thing.

The following week, after juggling three busy lives with just one car, we went car shopping. I took the kids since it’s primarily for them to drive. We ended up getting a 2020 Chevy Bolt that was part of the battery fire recall. The work has been done so the car is safe, but because of that it only has 3000 miles on it and is in like new condition for a used car price. VT also has great incentives to buy electric vehicles, so I basically got it for about half price. More than the nothing I was currently paying for the Ford, but overall not a bad deal, IMHO. Eve loves the car and has named it Leda, after a dnd character. She even jazzed up her key fob with a lizard and some flowers.

Photography

My library, in conjunction with a local photography club, runs an annual amateur photography contest each year. There are different categories people submit to, including an Under 18 category. My co-workers told me that they hardly ever get many submissions in the Under 18 category, so I took it upon myself to fix that. LOL. I emailed the local art teachers I knew and the tech center that has an awesome graphics program. I also sent it to Eve, her friends, and some other people I know. We got more Under 18 submissions this year than ever before! 😁 Eve submitted two photos and even won an Honorable Mention in the Under 18 category. I was not involved in any judging, btw, and names were all on the back so the judges didn’t know who the photographers were while judging. There was an opening reception with awards ceremony that Eve and I were going to go to, but on the day it felt too much like work and she didn’t want to go anyway, so we skipped it. Her print is hanging in the gallery with a ribbon on it though. So that’s kinda cool.

(You may notice in that picture that she’s going by the name Eno now. I’m trying to adjust to that, but it’s not easy. She hasn’t asked anyone to call her that, but she’s been using it when she signs up for things. Her friends still call her E and I’ve been slowly moving from Eve to E.)

Dean’s List

Lex and Alan both got an email saying Lex made the Dean’s List for the fall semester. For some reason I didn’t get the email. 🤔 The bill comes to me though, so I guess all is good. 😄 Lex said there are a lot of people on the list (over a thousand, I think) but also acknowledged that college courses are much harder than high school courses and seemed proud of himself for earning that recognition.

Murder Mystery

I love these kids.

E and her buddies went to a Murder Mystery event organized by my fancy new library. It was a teen program, so I wasn’t involved, but I helped promote it to my teenage crowd. LOL. They had a BLAST!

Jobs

We’ve had some job changes around here as well. Eve had been looking off an on for something for awhile. She has particular places she will and won’t work, so the process took some time. Last week she got hired at Old Navy as a sales clerk. She went in on Tuesday for her first day. She said it was really good. She was supposed to go back on Thursday, but had an emotional breakdown that day and called out sick. Sigh. Her ups and downs are coming fast and frequent these days. We’re working through those together and may enlist advice from the doctor soon too.

R went to work today and came home half hour later, shortly after posting on Instagram that he got fired, but got a cupcake to go, so all is well. Sigh. He made it clear to his boss and everyone else that work is a low priority for him, and he regularly skips work for no real reason, and he always shows up late. He has a loose grasp on time. No one was really surprised by the firing, but I think he was surprised that they actually did it. He got himself some takeout and went to a friends house for the evening. He’s going through a lot these days so maybe he’s better off not having a job for awhile anyway. We’ll see.

Eve made the logo for me.

My job is going well. Not fired yet! I’ve been picking up responsibilities and finding myself bored less and less often. I organized a program about AI a few weeks ago, and I’m starting a Sci-Fi book club in March. So far the responses has been overwhelming! One lady checked out the book and came back a week later saying she loved it so much and “just can’t wait until March so we can discuss it!” I’m also running a weekly tech drop-in program that has been gaining in popularity. I now have people waiting at the table for me each week when it begins. I got a (contracted) six month raise recently and was surprised that I was at six months already! I’ve been hanging out with friends from DBS sometimes (dinner and lunches here and there) and while I love hearing the stories and miss (some of ) the kids, I’m regularly reminded that I made the right choice to switch jobs. (Remind me of that in two weeks when the kids and all my teacher friends are on vacation and I’m still working!)

Road Trips

We have a busy weekend coming up. R is off on a road trip with a friend to “visit a college” (ie: visit a friend in college and eat tons of chicken wings and maybe watch the Super Bowl). E, Simon, and I are going to WPI to visit Lex and watch a bball game. Well, really to watch the pep band at the bball game!! I’m excited to give my boy a big hug!! I miss him. 💗

I found out literally just now that Lex’s Winter Percussion Group will be performing on April 7th (HBD Dad!!) at a school right near where Eve and I will be heading for a college tour. We’ll be doing a several day road trip to check out four colleges in April. Lex’s group will be performing the day before her first tour. I’m THRILLED that that dates/locations line up so well! Yay!

Ear Pain and Urgent Care

Eve woke up on New Year’s Day with stuffy ears that progressively got worse as the day went on. By the evening they were pretty painful and she couldn’t hear very well. She went to sleep that night with hot packs on her ears. The next morning she stayed home and I took her to the doctor. We couldn’t get an appointment until late morning though, so I gave her pain relievers in the morning to help. By the time we got to the doctor she was feeling less miserable, of course. The doctor said that Eve’s right ear canal was so swollen she couldn’t see the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Her left ear looked a little swollen, but not as bad. The doctor prescribed ear drops and sent us home. By the evening Eve was in major pain again, in both ears, and it continued through the night. She barely slept at all, was up and down heating up her hot pack, getting meds, crying in my bed, throwing up in the toilet, etc. Neither of us got more an two hours of sleep the whole night. I took her to Urgent Care this morning and the doctor there said both ear canals are extremely swollen. He prescribed amoxicillin and said to continue with the ear drops. He also prescribed anti nausea medicine since she had thrown up five times already that morning. Poor girl was throwing up in the Urgent Care bathroom. :(

We went to CVS for the prescriptions, another hot pack, and some Saltines. Then I left her home with Lex for the afternoon while I went into work. She took all the meds (appropriate doses, of course!) and said she had a pretty ok afternoon. When I got home we both fell asleep on the couch for awhile. She just woke up again in major pain. She’s sitting on the couch with hot packs on both ears and tears in her eyes. This post as taken awhile as I go back and forth between her and the computer. Fortunately, so far, she’s no longer feeling nauseous. That makes a big difference! Hopefully the rest of the meds kick in soon and reduce the swelling. The doctors said they don’t know what’s causing the swelling, but the first step is to get it down enough that she’s comfortable and they can see her eardrums. Hopefully that happens quickly!

2024!

Welcome to a whole new year! We celebrated New Year’s Eve in the usual fashion, plus a few extra people. We had games and Cheetos (both puffed and crunchy!) and the NYC ball drop. Then at 12:10 I kicked them all out! LOL. I actually let the ones who live here, plus one extra, stay. I went to bed eventually and they went to bed much later than me. A good night was had by all. :)

Here are my accomplishments for today, the first day of the new year:

  • Sleep late
  • Take a shower
  • Complete about one third of a really hard Thomas Kinkade puzzle while watching The Queen’s Gambit in the background
  • Bring those that wanted to join me to “A Forest of Lights” at VINS.
  • Order and pick up pizza
  • Eat
  • Get myself in bed at a reasonable hour (that’s a goal anyway, not sure if it will actually happen)

That’s it. That has been my day. And I am loving every minute of it! It was weird going back to work for a few days between Christmas and New Years, but as I sit here today, remembering previous years and seeing what my teacher friends are posting on social media and text convos, I’m feeling totally at peace. I LOVE that I can enjoy my time off and not have to do work today to prepare to go to work tomorrow. Instead of the usual back-to-work anxiety, I am feeling at peace with my choices, knowing that the work will be at work and I don’t have to think about it at home. Instead I can while away the day doing puzzles and not much else. Enjoying the final day of this vacation and first day of this new year. I wish others could have that same peace in their careers.

Happy 2024. May your year be peaceful and full of good fortune.

Christmas 2023

Another Christmas has come and gone. A joyous, family-filled, sugar induced holiday affair. This year Barney and Lorie flew out from California to join us for the festivities.

It has been a slow week post-Christmas. I had to work for a few of the days, since my new job does not include a week off between Christmas and New Years. It was weird to work this week, but not bad. It made for a slower cleanup and less reading/puzzle time, but it’s all good.

Tonight is New Year’s Eve. We’ll be doing our usual games and late night fun. We have a few friends coming over to ring in the new year with us! Then New Year’s Day off, then we all go back to school and work. Except Lex, who gets another whole week off!! Lucky college boy. LOL.

Oh Christmas Tree

Today was a pretty perfect, festive, holi-day. Alan came down to visit and we went to get the Christmas tree. Lex is still at school and River was at an event, so it was just me, Eve, and Alan this year. We found the perfect tree in a matter of minutes! I’m not sure if we got really lucky, or if just few voices make for faster decisions, or what. But whatever it was, the tree is lovely and we were efficient.

When we got home we turned on a livestream of the WPI basketball game Lex was performing at. Lex was on snare drum and easy to spot in the crowd. The basketball game was a good one (WPI won!) and went quickly, like most basketball games do. After the halftime show, which is just the band playing, no marching, we brought the tree in and set it up.

Three videos in a playlist. Hit play once and let it run through all three.

Eve and River went off to play DnD with their friends, Alan headed home, and I went to have dinner with a good friend. It was her birthday yesterday so we got carrot cake for dessert. Yum!

When the kids got home, Eve and I put up the star and the Christmas lights. We also each put up one ornament. We decided to do the rest tomorrow. There is a storm warning for tomorrow, so it will be the perfect day to cozy up at home and decorate the Christmas tree. I’m excited for it already.

Next weekend Lex will come home and my house will be full again. <3

Happy Birthday to me!

I celebrated 47 wonderful trips around the sun yesterday. We had a busy weekend, mostly involving driving and waiting at the car place for tire changes. Nothing exciting, but also somehow still fun. Friday I drove down to WPI to pick up Lex, brought him home, picked up Eve, then we went to the high school’s production of Curtains: The Musical. It was fantastic and hysterical. Lex was happy to be there and all his theater friends were happy to see him again. We brought two cars so I could go home while the kids socialized, but in the end they went home before me because I was socializing! LOL.

Saturday morning I took the kid car to the tire place and waited for four hours (FOUR HOURS!) in a freezing cold tire place for them to put snow tires on the car. Clearly I waited too late in the season to do this, but in my defence I did start calling around in early October and everyone was booked through December, so…. anyway. Towards the end of my long wait, Lex and Eve showed up with a mug of hot tea for me, and plans to run some top-secret errands (that Lex repeatedly reassured me were not bad errands).

Saturday afternoon they surprised me with beautiful flowers, presents, and a table display. 🤗 I opened presents Saturday afternoon while Lex was still home. Then Eve and I drove him back to WPI. Eve hadn’t had the chance to see his dorm room yet, and also she love car trips with me. We left around 4:30pm, when it was almost dark, so it felt like a super long drive in the dark, but really it was fine and we were home by 11pm.

Sunday, my actual birthday, Eve made waffles for breakfast and angel food cake for dinner. I went to an adorable wine bar / cafe in town with a fellow librarian I haven’t seen in many months. It was super nice to catch up with her. When I got home Eve had cake ready and we watched a Great British Bake Off together, then I joined a Discord video chat with my college buddies.

Overall, it was a great birthday weekend! I’m happy to be 47 and starting another trip around the sun. 🌞