Last day of preschool

Today is C-man's last day of being a preschool kid. I can hardly believe it. We're going to have a grade-schooler tomorrow. Well, for an hour tomorrow. I can also hardly believe they're only doing school for one bleeping hour for 4k. Seriously, people... I work! I guess the idea is to get the kids to the school with all their glue sticks and markers and watercolors and spare shoes and stuff. I also think it's because the majority of these private school kids have stay-at-home moms, so it's the first parting of the ways. Unlike my kid, who will be running out of my arms to go do his thing with a big 'smell ya later, mom' attitude. And then the bus riding starts on Wednesday... Now THAT makes me nervous.

Happy birthday to you... happy birthday to you...

Would this be the appropriate time to tell you your gift's in the mail? It should be there tomorrow... fashionably late...

Is it baby dukey or an appropriate match?

While I was traveling last week, the roof got finished. So I forgot to appropriately celebrate it in blogland. But trust me, we are celebrating every single day around here. But now we have to repaint it. Because the colors just don't match anymore, and when we took off the downspouts, it left bare wood that needs to be painted. So we bought a couple of paint samples. And when Beerman put them on, it was hilarious - they're identical. Different stores, different brands... I picked out one at Lowes, I let the Home Depot paint crew pick out the other... and they're absolutely identical.

But we can't decide... Is it babyshit brown? Or does it look right because it matches the siding? My thought is to do dark brown on the shutters.

A new camera lens + a nephew playing football = a lot of pictures

Kickoff

Kyle suited up

And then the rain came...

Getting direction from Dad

Enjoying the late bedtime, froggy raincoat and M&M cookies 4th quarter

Final touchdown

Shot with Dad

Pacelli 50 over St. Catherine 32

Another Brewers win!!

Fielder got a home run, which was great, since C-man was wearing a Fielder shirt last night and felt personally responsible for it.

Parra was on the mound

Everyone was in good moods. Especially when the guy next to us shared his cotton candy with C-man. So much for that "Don't take candy from drunken strangers" rule.The great sausage raceC-man's favorite, hot dog, won

Overall, a great night at the game.

Can I hear a whoo - ooo?

Today the day that the 40-hour week has made. Let us go forth and rejoice in it. We're heading to the Brewers game tonight. With the rain, the roof should be closed. Nothing like a 3 hour hot-steam sauna for the pores. Maybe they'll actually win one for us.

Got any oil?

Today was cardio day at bootcamp. Now that was something, considering I could hear my joints creaking like the tin man. Damn rain. But I am proud I went to bootcamp in the rain. I've been a little demotivated about the whole eating right and working out lately, which is a bad thing. I think I am moving back into a happy place about doing it again. At least that's what I tell myself after I finish 60 minutes of running with weights in the rain when I really just want to be back in bed.

I guess I need to be hipper than I am

It’s the fastest growing communication medium out there. It’s hip with the kids. It’s a phenomenon. And after 4 whopping tweets, I am a little ashamed to admit that I just don’t get Twitter. At all. I blog. So I get the whole self-indulgent web-based medium. But Twitter feels a bit too self-indulgent to me. I’m not an actor or rock star or news channel. My life is pretty normal and boring. So I have to ask, seriously, do you want to know what I am going to eat for dinner at the precise moment I make that decision? Or that when I’m in the shower I like to splash water on the wall to watch the patterns it makes? Or how about that I’m going to pick my kid up from school? I’m hoping someday I’ll get it. But for now, I think 4 tweets has been my limit. Maybe I’ll try it again when we’re on vacation. Maybe then my life will be a little less mundane, and a bit more exciting. Then again, I run into the problem of needing to procure followers. Maybe I’ll just stick with the blog.

But you know the best thing about business travel?

Oh dear God, I love room service. I call and get exactly what I want, when I want it. And then I get to eat it on top of a perfectly made, white duvet covered bed while watching some trashy cable show (that I don't get at home because I'm too lame to get cable). And the best part of all? Tthe company pays for it. And then in the morning, that little heavenly knock with my perfect eggs and fresh, strong coffee. It almost makes me shiver with the anticipation. Soooo much better than the "What do you want for dinner?" conversation, which is followed by the time it takes for dinner to cook, and then the clean-up. Sooooo much better.

You know the worst thing about time zone changes?

The fact that my stomach doesn't believe it. And I've got stuff to do until "lunchtime", the real clock-abiding lunchtime, and not the my-stomach-needs-food-now-or-I'm-going-to-chew-on-your-arm lunchtime. The real task is resisting the vending machine glory that is tiny Dolly Madison mini chocolate donuts. Mmmmm... waxy chocolate....

What's the worst thing about flying?

Is it that you have to take off your shoes and walk on top of God knows what fungus in security? Is it that you have to take off your belt so it doesn't beep the metal detectors, and then wait for all the old ladies who stand immediately at the end of the security belt, log jamming everyone else's stuff, while they put their crap slooooow-ly on instead of grabbing their stuff at the end of the belt and taking it to a chair out of the way? Is it the lack of any food, even crappy airline food, even though we're traveling almost 5 hours directly over lunchtime? Is it the crick in my neck from having to sit at an unnatural angle? Is it the guy who was sitting next to me who I thought was going to barf on me, but isntead got so sick he had to get up and request medical attention on the overhead page? (The good news is, no fewer than 7 people got up who were medically trained personnel. Apparently an anasthesiologist is attending to him. Good to know!) No, I'm pretty sure it's the fat old guy who just spilled an entire Coke on top of me. In the clothes I need to wear to go to work after I land. At least I'm wearing black. Sigh... How had I ever forgotten about how luxurious work travel can be?

Sun(pound)day

Since the house is rattling above us with this roof stuff, we decided to go geocaching. And, of course, take a break in the parks in the middle.

This week is brought to you by the word "Soffit"

7 pm update: After 9 1/2 boxes of soffits (apparently that's a lot), they wanted a celebratory photo of the last one.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Millertime.

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Rusty declared the job on the back of our house to be enough soffit to cover an entire house on a "normal" job. It figures. Today they're rounding the east side.

Lighting is all installed.

Rusty doing the cutting. Apparently soffits are too expensive to leave to the amateurs to cut.

I'm assured the siding will go up, at least on the front of the house, before Rusty leaves this time so I stop referring to our house as "the House that Sanford and Son built". That will be a good, good day.

Harry's just going to be happy to not have the saws and hammers scaring the crap out of him anymore.

He's going to be okay

C-man has been in Y Daycamp this week because his former school is closed for cleaning, and his new school doesn't start until September 1st. I've been a bit worried about how he's going to take all these transition because, well, he's 4, and a bit shy around new situations. But I am now convinced he'll be just fine. Yesterday we got a call at 10 a.m.that he was complaining of a headache and didn't want to participate in things at Y camp. Knowing he's been fighting the crud, I called Beerman to go pick him up and arranged things at work to be home within the hour. When Beerman picked him up, his new little friends jumped up to hug him goodbye. Friends he's known for a total of 3.5 days. Friends we now hear about non-stop and you'd think he'd known since birth. Last night I got a phone call from our "host family". You know, the family that takes care of you and answers questions, etc. from the new school. The invited us to a BBQ on Sunday so he can meet their kids. Then today I heard from another family. The family whose kids get picked up immediately before C-man on the bus. They want to come over so they can meet him because their 8th grader is going to watch out for him and take him where he needs to go. I know I've been more worried about it than him, but I think I'm feeling better about things now. My baby's going to school...

Natural wonders around the house

Some days, it takes the simple and beautiful things to make it all better.

Some days are just plain hard

C-man was up again last night. His throat is bright red. And did I mention he got stung by a bee for the very first time yesterday while at YMCA daycamp? Thankfully he's not allergic like Beerman, and was "very brave" according to the counselors. But I was required to sleep with him, because when he's sick, he only wants mommy. Which, of course, means I didn't sleep, because how do you sleep in a double bed with a 4 year old who sleeps horizontally with 10,000 stuffed animals and snores when he's sick. So my sleep deprived self got up at 4:30 to go work out. In the rain. And I can't tell if my body is heading into an arthritic flare-up, or it's just the weather, but I can't wear rings. My throat is starting to hurt. It could be psychosymptomatic, but I doubt it. The good news is it's Thursday. The bad news is that there's a lot of Thursday still left to go. Maybe I'll make some Florence hotel reservations to perk up my day.

Happy 20 years of wedded bliss

Proof that love is indeed stronger than peoples opinions. Congratulations you two lovebirds! P.S. Today also marks 20 years since I got completely shitfaced for the very first time and ended up on the bathroom floor. I still do love me some good champagne... Good times. Good times.

Wordless Wednesday: A Brewers homerun from the perspective of a 4-year old who hates fireworks

We will never forget you Brent

What a total d-bag...