The kitchen is packed! Yay me!

It's kitten time

Only 8 days until the move. I am excited, and a little freaked out, because all I've managed to do is make a list of what needs doing and pack a handful of boxes. These next 8 days have to be productive. I'm off work two days next week - Monday, the holiday, and Friday, the movers come. And in between we have work and shows and car shopping and other shopping and the kids have short school days as their year is coming to an end on June 1st....argh. Lots of things going on all at the same time.

BUT...all of that seems to be stressing me out less than usual. Why? Because we got a kitten! OMG, it's the cutest thing ever! It's amazing what a cute kitten can do to one's disposition. Emily found the little one in the park climbing a bush. No mother or siblings in sight. Can't tell if it's a boy or a girl yet as it looks very young - maybe 2 months old or less, so we're referring to it as a 'he' for now. He's a very unusual color, a kind of chocolate brown with light streaks of black. He (or she) is just gorgeous! Very vocal and playful and cuddly, and can jump quite high in spite of its small size. We're going to take him over to our vet friend and have him/her checked out for all the necessaries.
Since he was found outdoors, I'm a little worried about his health, so I hope he gets a good report.

I'll put up some pics soon. Didn't want to freak him out with the flash of a camera on his first nite with us. But it may be a few days before I get around to it as I will will be excessively busy for the next week and my computer and camera will be in a box very soon!

Yesssss!

The mother of all days

Another Mother's Day. This year's was uneventful, and that's not a bad thing really. So much stress lately, so many things going on, I just didn't have the energy to be excited about a day that was supposedly meant for those of us who've given birth.

I didn't ask for any gifts, I really just wanted to relax and have one day where I didn't have to worry about a million things. So that's what I got. But since The Boy's birthday always coincides with Mother's Day, it's hard for me to make it all about me.

The best news came last week, when we got approved for an apartment! Yes! That's all I really wanted. I cannot wait to move out of that house!!! I was looking around, trying to think of things that I would miss - the only thing I could come up with was the giant bumble bees who nest every spring in the wood on the back patio. But I won't miss them that much. It was funny to see them every year - it was a sure sign of spring when there would be a pile of wood shavings on the ground from where they had started burrowing out their a space for another season. And watching them try to find the exact location was always amusing. Other than that, I'm looking forward to city living, fresh paint, new carpet, and a landlord who will actually repair things when they break. I think I'm most excited about having a working oven and a bath tub, so I imagine the first thing I'll do when we move in is bake some cookies and take a bubble bath. No, I'll probably bake a cake, I've been promising the boyfriend one for a while.

So I'm back to having a million things to do. Transferring utilities, finding a moving company, packing and throwing out things that we don't need. The next few weeks will be crazy, but the end result will be so worth it.

Adios, Plano. Hello, Dallas.

The one thing I did get for Mother's Day was this - the mini-teen, Emily, wrote me a poem, and posted it on my Myspace comments. It brought a little tear to my eye. I thought it was amazing. Enjoy.

You were there at the first moment.
My first breath of air.
You held me as my eyes opened for the very first time.
I saw you. My protector.
You sheltered me from harm.
My mother; My savior.
My first day of school, allthough forever ago,
I remember vividly.
You walked me to class.
God, you looked so proud.
Second grade; I broke my arm.
You took me the hospital.
You were there for me.
All my life, you've been right here.
You watched me laugh. You watched me cry.
You saw me succeed. You saw me lie.
A new school. A new life. A new city.
You were there.
When they doubted me. When they doubted you.
You came through.
I don't care what they all say.
Let the world talk.
I'm still trying to be your little girl.
The one you always wanted.
You were there when he broke my heart.
The very first time.
You held me as I closed my eyes to cry.
As I finally saw the world for the first time; for what it really is.
Stay here mom.
Because one day, I'll be there for you.

Birthday Boy

As of today, I am officially the mother of 3 teenagers.

It’s my son Christopher’s 13th birthday. As if I didn’t feel old already, geez.

Of course, I love all of my children equally – or at least I’m required by some parenting law to say that. But as far as infants and toddlers go, my boy was the BEST. His sisters gave me nothing but trouble when they were small, but not him. He rarely cried, he slept during normal hours, and he didn’t even complain or whine when he was sick. Sometimes it was hard to tell that he wasn’t feeling well, because he was always smiling. I remember at Thanksgiving when he was just 6 months old, he was happy and giggly – but then I noticed that he had goopy stuff coming out of his ear! So I took him to the emergency room, and sure enough, a pretty severe ear infection. The staff was amazed at how happy and quiet he was, in spite of the pain he should have been feeling. Weird. the nurses fawned all over him, sending him home with stuffed toys. Of course, as he’s gotten older and realized that whining to mom works like a charm when you’re sick, those days are long gone. But he was such a pleasant baby. And even now, he’s not too demanding. He’s pretty easy to please.

I have some of the cutest pictures of him when he was a baby. It seems like his first day of Kindergarten just happened. And now, he’s a man. Well, he would be if we were Jewish. No Bar Mitzvah for you, little man.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about Jenn 13 Things That Begin With the Letter E (I got this from Melissa's blog and it looked like fun, although my answers are much shorter and far less eloquent than hers. http://www.missmeliss.com/) 1. Evan - My partner, my friend, the man who means the world to me. Yes, there are days when our lives are less than perfect, but I truly believe that we were meant to be together. 2. Eggs - someone told me once that I make the best scrambled eggs ever. I don't know what made them so good. 3. Entertaining - What can I say? I'm love making people laugh. 4. Egypt - I hope to visit the pyramids someday. 5. eBay - I heard a reference made to this website on Futurama last nite and thought - wow, a cartoon about the future has a dated reference. Hmm. Also - I have never bought or sold anything on eBay. 6. Ego - I don't have much of one, really. 7. Emotional - I have been told more than once that I am too much of this. Oh well. I'm a chick. Get over it. 8. Espresso - Mmm, strong, perfectly brewed coffee. What's not to love? 9. Employment - I am still very happy to have a job that I like. 10. Envy - 1 of the 7 deadly sins that I am guilty of. 11. Epitaph - I do hope that something nice is said of me on my tombstone. 12. Edamame - my favorite snack. It's good for you, it's fun to eat, and even my kids will choke down a soybean or two. 13. Entitlement - I absolutely hate people who have an entitlement mentality. No one 'owes' you anything. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Duty

One of the greatest joys of being a citizen of this wonderful country is being called for Jury Duty.

Sarcasm – off.

Yes, it’s everyone’s civic duty and all, and thankfully now that it’s done, I won’t be called again for at least 2 years. But there’s 8 hours of my life I’m never getting back.

First off, it amazed me just how many people showed up late for this. In the group of approximately 400 people, at least 60 of them came in 15 minutes or more late. Which of course meant we didn’t start on time. Yay for you people. Thanks for holding it up for the rest of us.

The room was packed when I arrived, so I took the first seat I could find. The chairs were uncomfortably close together and I was feeling just a little claustrophobic. To my right, a very large and gross man who gurgled and snorted like Jaba the Hut, and whose personal space invaded mine a little too much. To my left, a bald white guy with a Harley Davidson t-shirt who was reading a copy of “The Occult Roots of Nazism”. Well. Won’t this be a splendid day. (And yes, both of their names were called.)

The clerk came in and greeted us, and we watched a video about jury trials. The video included clips from an array of great trial movies, such as “My Cousin Vinnie” and “Liar Liar”. Who knew the Collin County justice system had a sense of humor?

After the video, a judge came in and repeated all of the information that the clerk had already told us. Then we got a Power Point presentation with all of the same information again. Then it was time for everyone with disqualifications and exemptions to speak to the judge and be excused. College students, stay-at-home moms, anyone over the age of 70, etc. I was going to try and go with number 4 on the list – “I am not of sound mind and good moral character” - but I wasn’t sure how to prove that to the judge. About 20 or so people were excused for various reasons.

More waiting. It’s getting close to lunch time. The clerk came in and called 40 names and those people were sent to a court room. Another period of waiting. Another 40 names called. I was getting excited, thinking that maybe I was going to luck out and get to leave early. But no. My name was in the last group of 40, and we were instructed to come back at 1:30 PM. Grr. Everyone else got to leave. Darn lucky people.

My group gathered at the specified time and sat in the hallway of the court room for a couple of hours. I chatted with a lady who worked as a legal assistant. She was surprised she had been called. Finally at almost 4 PM, we were told that the case had been settled and our services would not be needed.

A day in the life of the trial-by-jury system. My civic duty is done for the next 24 months.