Yesterday was a crazy busy day. One of my kids, C, showed up at 7:30 in the morning and promptly went and laid on the couch. Since he normally doesn't come that early, I thought he may be tired, but when I asked him if he was ok, he said that he wasn't feeling well, and that the night before he had been sick to his stomach.
Great.
Here we go again...
You all know my policies by now I'm sure. And these parents are usually great. They pay me on time, they are really great about me taking time off if I need it, they are very personable and easy-going and we all get along great. So I knew this wasn't a case of the usual "my-kid-is-sick-but-I-don't-really-care-because-I-still-need-to-go-to-work". Besides, he was going to school in an hour anyway.
A phone call later to his mom determined that she believed he didn't want to go to school so he was faking, and that the issue last night was forced from coughing.
Ok.
I could go along with that because I know this guy, and he is a GREAT liar at times (although a sweet kid) and a bit on the dramatic side.
About 20 minutes later when I'd finished dealing with breakfast and my own kids, I checked on him and he was still on the couch, although he told me he'd been sick in my toilet twice.
Yikes!! And, poor guy.
So I told him I'd need to call his mom to come get him and that he shouldn't be going to school. That's when he tried to change his story. It became, "Well...it was only a little bit one time..."
Okaaaaayyyy.... I wasn't sure what to make of that. Was he afraid I was calling him out? Because I actually didn't hear or see him throwing up.
Another phone call to his mom and we decided to send him to school as he may or may not have been telling the truth, and she would alert his teacher.
A little bit later, I gathered all the kids and we started to get ready to leave for school. C started to get ready, stopped, and went into my powder room upstairs here. This time, I listened at the door, and sure enough I could hear him being sick. Poor kid!!
A very hasty third phone call later, and his mom decided that since I had to troop everyone to school anyway (I couldn't leave him alone at the house) that I would deliver him to the office, and her mother would pick him promptly up from there. Ok.
Strangely enough, C was still chipper and ran to school alongside the other kids. If that were me, I'd be dragging my butt!!
About 45 minutes later, I was getting crafts sorted out back at home for the non-school children, and I heard the door open upstairs and someone call out, "Hello?" It turned out to be C's grandma, who got it mixed up and thought that he was here! Poor Kid!! If I'd known she would take that long, I would have brought him home with me. At least he could have been laying on the couch and throwing up in privacy rather than be stuck in a stuffy school office sitting on a hard plastic chair!
So as it turns out, he was trying to downplay his illness because he WANTED to go to school! Apparently, he thought if he missed choir that he would get kicked out! Again, poor little guy!
So that was the first part of my morning. The rest of the day was also crazy and hectic, because I had to scour both bathrooms he was sick in (not that he missed the toilet, because he didn't, but I needed to eradicate the lingering germs!!), in between breaking up bickering 5/6 year-old girls, getting crafts/cleaning up crafts, making/cleaning up playdough, getting snack and trying to throw in the laundry the blanket and pillow C had been laying on (again, no spillage, I'm just a freak when it comes to germs). Oh, and Lysol-ing the heck out of every surface in the daycare.
The bickering girls were getting to me. So I packed everyone up and even though there wasn't much time left before lunch, we headed out to the park. I couldn't stand another second stuck in the house!!
Then after lunch, the two little kids went down for a nap and this used to be my own time, my quiet time. Not anymore.
I used to make the older kids go watch a movie downstairs so I could have a little peace. If they weren't going to nap anymore (and really, what five year old does?) I still needed a break. But now they don't want to watch a movie anymore. They want to play Wii (which is upstairs on my main tv) because I made the mistake of letting them play a couple of times as a treat before. So now they just hang around, staring at me as I'm trying to clean the kitchen and eat lunch. Ugh. I know I'm their sitter and this is my job, but seriously? Do I have to entertain you ALL the damn time?? Who else works for 10 hours a day and doesn't get a break? So it was a long, long afternoon. At one point, I even went upstairs to put laundry away just to have a few minutes to myself, because they're not allowed up there.
After school, I took nine kids to the park and tried to stay there as long as I could. Lately all the parents have been showing up right at five. Talk about stretching it to the last minute! (I close at five by the way.) So I didn't get rid of anyone early, and after they all left I went straight inside and started on dinner.
DH came home in time to eat with us, and I had to listen to him complain about how tired he was.
SERIOUSLY??
Not what I wanted to hear after the day I'd had. All he had to do was come home, plunk himself down at the table and pick up his fork. He was at school all day! It's not like that's physically taxing! To be fair, I do know it's mentally tiring, which is mostly what my day was too, but really? If you're going to complain on and on, at least ask the other person how their day was. Then I had to clean up dinner, wash the dishes, and start folding laundry. He didn't lift a finger.
MEN!! I seriously wanted to shove the laundry basket up his ass!
I'm hoping and praying today all the parents take pity on me and pick their kids up early so I can get started on my weekend!
Showing posts with label men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label men. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Monday, May 3, 2010
Ok, I'm THAT Woman.
Today I had another "day off". It was nice, and is probably the last one for a very long time. So instead of staying home and cleaning, I decided to go out and do some shopping/errands. One of my errands was to get the oil changed in our Explorer.
Ok, I've NEVER EVER EVER done any kind of maintenance on a vehicle. And I don't mean me physically working on the truck, I mean taking care of the maintenance.
Before I met DH, I was in college. I didn't have a vehicle. After we were living together, every vehicle was basically both of ours, and since DH was working for first, a limo maker, and second, a car dealership (both with mechanic shops there), and third, an actual mechanic shop, he always took care of the maintenance portion of our vehicles. The most I've ever done for maintaining a vehicle is to add gas, windshield washer fluid (and even that's rare for me) and a good clean up maybe once a year.
Today, however, was different. For the first time ever, DH isn't working for anything that's related to cars. He has finished school for the school year, and today was his first day at his co-op. The truck needed an oil change, and I had a day off. So, it was either up to me to do it, or another weekend chore to add to the list.
"I can do this," I thought. I had no idea what to expect, but how hard could it be? DH had said to me on the weekend that taking it to the dealership that had a drive-thru oil changing thingy would likely be fine. All I heard was drive-thru, and fine. I didn't hear the part when he told me to shop around first, or what the price should be. All I knew was that sounded easy!
So off I went this morning. I still felt lost and out of my realm when I got to the dealership. There were the bay doors to the shop, and there were people lined up in their cars, as for a car wash. Did I just line up? Or was I supposed to check in first? Or pay first?
I parked the car and went in, only to learn that I should have stayed in the truck and just got into line. Once I got in there and it was my turn, this one mechanic guy came to my window and started going on about something. Words like "seized" and "valve" and other mechanic-y jargon came tumbling out of his mouth and I just stared at him and must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
When he said, "OK?", I simply stated, "I have NOOOOO idea what you are talking about!"
Typical housewife, was probably his thought, as I'm sure he had a quiet conference with the billing guy about how he could easily charge me double, I'm so ignorant. He ushered me out of the truck and showed me the tire, pointing to the valve thing where you pump the tires up (something else I don't do). He then explained as Idaydreamed about him actually being hot and sexy, then taking... listened intently to him saying something or other, and I was thinking, I thought I came in here for an oil change? Are they charging me extra for this?
Whatever.
Forty-seven dollars later I pulled out, happy and proud that I had taken responsibility for my vehicle and went about my shopping and errands.
Apparently I was ripped off, because I got yelled at later by DH for not shopping around and going straight there.
Oh well, it's done now, and I have a feeling DH won't be leaving that up to me again, which is just as well because I hate doing it! Vehicles should always be the man's job! Just like lawn mowing, garbage, and snow blowing/shovelling...
Ok, I've NEVER EVER EVER done any kind of maintenance on a vehicle. And I don't mean me physically working on the truck, I mean taking care of the maintenance.
Before I met DH, I was in college. I didn't have a vehicle. After we were living together, every vehicle was basically both of ours, and since DH was working for first, a limo maker, and second, a car dealership (both with mechanic shops there), and third, an actual mechanic shop, he always took care of the maintenance portion of our vehicles. The most I've ever done for maintaining a vehicle is to add gas, windshield washer fluid (and even that's rare for me) and a good clean up maybe once a year.
Today, however, was different. For the first time ever, DH isn't working for anything that's related to cars. He has finished school for the school year, and today was his first day at his co-op. The truck needed an oil change, and I had a day off. So, it was either up to me to do it, or another weekend chore to add to the list.
"I can do this," I thought. I had no idea what to expect, but how hard could it be? DH had said to me on the weekend that taking it to the dealership that had a drive-thru oil changing thingy would likely be fine. All I heard was drive-thru, and fine. I didn't hear the part when he told me to shop around first, or what the price should be. All I knew was that sounded easy!
So off I went this morning. I still felt lost and out of my realm when I got to the dealership. There were the bay doors to the shop, and there were people lined up in their cars, as for a car wash. Did I just line up? Or was I supposed to check in first? Or pay first?
I parked the car and went in, only to learn that I should have stayed in the truck and just got into line. Once I got in there and it was my turn, this one mechanic guy came to my window and started going on about something. Words like "seized" and "valve" and other mechanic-y jargon came tumbling out of his mouth and I just stared at him and must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
When he said, "OK?", I simply stated, "I have NOOOOO idea what you are talking about!"
Typical housewife, was probably his thought, as I'm sure he had a quiet conference with the billing guy about how he could easily charge me double, I'm so ignorant. He ushered me out of the truck and showed me the tire, pointing to the valve thing where you pump the tires up (something else I don't do). He then explained as I
Whatever.
Forty-seven dollars later I pulled out, happy and proud that I had taken responsibility for my vehicle and went about my shopping and errands.
Apparently I was ripped off, because I got yelled at later by DH for not shopping around and going straight there.
Oh well, it's done now, and I have a feeling DH won't be leaving that up to me again, which is just as well because I hate doing it! Vehicles should always be the man's job! Just like lawn mowing, garbage, and snow blowing/shovelling...
Monday, March 1, 2010
On Men
**DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG CONTAINS MUCH COMPLAINING AND BITCHING, SO IF YOU AREN'T IN THE MOOD FOR READING THAT, DON'T PROCEED. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!**
DH and I have been together this March for 15 years. Let me say that again.
15 YEARS!!!
We have been married for 9 (10 in October) years, but I can't believe we've been with each other for that long. It blows my mind.
That being said, I still do not get men. I guess I never will. Our relationship is pretty static, but there are still things we're working on. Things I still question when they happen, and I guess maybe that lasts forever??? I don't know.
I try very hard to not be like my mother. And I see little bits of her in me all the time. She took her relationship with my father for granted, I think. This is not to say that I blame her for the dissolution of their marriage, because I don't. That is another topic, but long story short, both parties are to blame there.
I just think that from my point of view as a child, I only saw my mother "being mean to my dad". Ok, I should explain that better. Keep in mind, this is the POV of a child. She constantly criticized him, and harped and nagged on him, and shrugged off his affections. That part, the affections part, I remember the most. And that is the part that I catch myself doing from time to time, and internally chastise myself about. I don't want to be like that.
Of course, now, as an adult, a wife, and a working mother of two, I can TOTALLY see where she was coming from with the nagging and the berating. It's hard to be all these things, and still be a positive person! A wife, a lover, a partner, a best friend, a mother, a nurse, a chauffeur, a cook, a cleaner, and a career person (in my case, babysitter of other's children.) Those are so many hats to wear in a day. And let's not forget that we are constantly being told by magazines, professionals, talk shows, etc, that we need to take time for ourselves and just be ourselves somewhere in there as well. I don't think men understand how much pressure we women are under to be so many things, and to be good at them! And some guys do get it, for the lucky women that have them, like my two BIL's. God, my sisters are lucky to have them!
But just a little help once in a while, without having to ask would be nice. But so many men don't understand that, and when we do ask, we get told we're nagging. Now I will be the first to admit that we don't always ask in the nicest ways. But really, should we have to?? At the point when we have to ask our DH's for help, we're usually at the end of our rope, and we have no more patience or "niceness" left in us. And it's because we bottle it up, bottle it up, bottle it up, for fear that we are labelled as the nagging wife. Then the bottle can't hold anymore, and the cork pops. I feel like we shouldn't have to ask, men should just know. So guys, take a hint when the eyes start rolling, and the huffing or the sighing begins. Those are the signs that the cork is going to pop!
Now back to the original purpose of this blog entry. This morning, I was annoyed because DH had left the gas fireplace on ALL NIGHT! Not only is this a waste of gas, but it also makes the rest of the house damn cold, especially when the thermostat is set lower for nighttime. I also happened to ask him if he had put gravy on the leftover dinners he prepared last night, to which the answer was no.
WHY?
WHY?
Ok, he knows I like gravy. He knows I believe it is practically a sin to waste gravy. He must know that, we've been together for 15 effing years now! And we've also had this "argument" before. So why would he neglect to use up the leftover gravy by putting it onto the leftover meat? To me, it just seems thoughtless and selfish. He totally was not thinking of me AT ALL.
I know it's such a small thing, but it just irks me so, because I know that D (my BIL) would NEVER EVER do that to my sister N. She is always in his thoughts. He is always thinking of her.
But really all that was said regarding that situation was "Did you...." and "Why not?" That is it. I didn't go on afterwards like I could have (and did in this blog), I left it at that. I didn't even huff. So really in all fairness, was I complaining there or nagging? I don't think so.
Then I brought up the fireplace because again, I thought it needed to be brought to his attention, and it's careless yet again. He knows, as I've told him before, that when he has the fire on at night (while staying up all hours watching tv) that it makes the upstairs frigid.
THOUGHTLESS.
So that, I did complain about. And he didn't like it. Not one bit. He hates when I complain about things (who doesn't really?) and he gets SOOOOOO DEFENSIVE!! And I only said one thing, but he considered it two. That in turn makes me mad. I mean, why shouldn't I be allowed once in a while to complain about something, point out something that is bothering me?
And here is where I get into a quandry. I try so hard not to be like my mother, complaining and nagging all the time, but on the other hand, I feel that we should be allowed to express our dissatisfaction about things. I really bottle a lot of things up. There are SOOOOO many things that I could complain about, and I don't, because I don't want to be a nagging wife. But then when am I allowed to say something. Should I just allow myself to be walked on? Are my concerns not relevant? So what exactly am I allowed to complain about, is what I want to know.
Here is another point of contention.
On the weekend, we helped my sis, S, move. This weekend also happened to be the start of DH's March break from school. So he has plans that he is going to paint my oldest's room. He was somewhat disgruntled on Saturday because I had told my mother and sister N that after we helped S, we would go over to their's for dinner. He "didn't expect to be gone all day, and had wanted to get started on R's room."
Well, too bad. I don't get to see my family as often as I like, and I'm not going to rush home and not see them just because he had plans he failed to mention to me. And I am sure that he wouldn't have carried those plans out anyway for a couple of reasons.
A) We ended up staying at N and D's later than normal because he couldn't tear himself away from the tv set and the gold medal curling game, so why would he have been stripping R's room if he was wanting to watch that?
B) He is currently upstairs playing the Wii. It is now 10:30 Monday morning, and he hasn't set foot in R's room.
So what was the big rush? I think he just didn't want to hang out with my family (why I don't know) and to that I say tough sh*t and if I have to hang out with his, then it goes both ways!! Never mind that the past few times I've been over to their place, he hasn't come.
So here we are again. Me, bottling it up. I could go upstairs and point out that he was so eager to get going on the room on Sat. and so what happened? I could even go up there and point out that he is being a lazy ass and to go get a job. But that's just getting a little bitchy, don'tcha think? (And yeah, I'm sitting here blogging, so that'd be a little like the pot calling the kettle black.)
But I won't.
Because again, I don't want to be labelled as a nagger.
So now I have to come up with a creative way to point out what he should be doing. Perhaps I will ask him if I should help him to start cleaning up in there, or moving furniture, or something of that nature.
See, woman also have to be creative and manipulative too.
DH and I have been together this March for 15 years. Let me say that again.
15 YEARS!!!
We have been married for 9 (10 in October) years, but I can't believe we've been with each other for that long. It blows my mind.
That being said, I still do not get men. I guess I never will. Our relationship is pretty static, but there are still things we're working on. Things I still question when they happen, and I guess maybe that lasts forever??? I don't know.
I try very hard to not be like my mother. And I see little bits of her in me all the time. She took her relationship with my father for granted, I think. This is not to say that I blame her for the dissolution of their marriage, because I don't. That is another topic, but long story short, both parties are to blame there.
I just think that from my point of view as a child, I only saw my mother "being mean to my dad". Ok, I should explain that better. Keep in mind, this is the POV of a child. She constantly criticized him, and harped and nagged on him, and shrugged off his affections. That part, the affections part, I remember the most. And that is the part that I catch myself doing from time to time, and internally chastise myself about. I don't want to be like that.
Of course, now, as an adult, a wife, and a working mother of two, I can TOTALLY see where she was coming from with the nagging and the berating. It's hard to be all these things, and still be a positive person! A wife, a lover, a partner, a best friend, a mother, a nurse, a chauffeur, a cook, a cleaner, and a career person (in my case, babysitter of other's children.) Those are so many hats to wear in a day. And let's not forget that we are constantly being told by magazines, professionals, talk shows, etc, that we need to take time for ourselves and just be ourselves somewhere in there as well. I don't think men understand how much pressure we women are under to be so many things, and to be good at them! And some guys do get it, for the lucky women that have them, like my two BIL's. God, my sisters are lucky to have them!
But just a little help once in a while, without having to ask would be nice. But so many men don't understand that, and when we do ask, we get told we're nagging. Now I will be the first to admit that we don't always ask in the nicest ways. But really, should we have to?? At the point when we have to ask our DH's for help, we're usually at the end of our rope, and we have no more patience or "niceness" left in us. And it's because we bottle it up, bottle it up, bottle it up, for fear that we are labelled as the nagging wife. Then the bottle can't hold anymore, and the cork pops. I feel like we shouldn't have to ask, men should just know. So guys, take a hint when the eyes start rolling, and the huffing or the sighing begins. Those are the signs that the cork is going to pop!
Now back to the original purpose of this blog entry. This morning, I was annoyed because DH had left the gas fireplace on ALL NIGHT! Not only is this a waste of gas, but it also makes the rest of the house damn cold, especially when the thermostat is set lower for nighttime. I also happened to ask him if he had put gravy on the leftover dinners he prepared last night, to which the answer was no.
WHY?
WHY?
Ok, he knows I like gravy. He knows I believe it is practically a sin to waste gravy. He must know that, we've been together for 15 effing years now! And we've also had this "argument" before. So why would he neglect to use up the leftover gravy by putting it onto the leftover meat? To me, it just seems thoughtless and selfish. He totally was not thinking of me AT ALL.
I know it's such a small thing, but it just irks me so, because I know that D (my BIL) would NEVER EVER do that to my sister N. She is always in his thoughts. He is always thinking of her.
But really all that was said regarding that situation was "Did you...." and "Why not?" That is it. I didn't go on afterwards like I could have (and did in this blog), I left it at that. I didn't even huff. So really in all fairness, was I complaining there or nagging? I don't think so.
Then I brought up the fireplace because again, I thought it needed to be brought to his attention, and it's careless yet again. He knows, as I've told him before, that when he has the fire on at night (while staying up all hours watching tv) that it makes the upstairs frigid.
THOUGHTLESS.
So that, I did complain about. And he didn't like it. Not one bit. He hates when I complain about things (who doesn't really?) and he gets SOOOOOO DEFENSIVE!! And I only said one thing, but he considered it two. That in turn makes me mad. I mean, why shouldn't I be allowed once in a while to complain about something, point out something that is bothering me?
And here is where I get into a quandry. I try so hard not to be like my mother, complaining and nagging all the time, but on the other hand, I feel that we should be allowed to express our dissatisfaction about things. I really bottle a lot of things up. There are SOOOOO many things that I could complain about, and I don't, because I don't want to be a nagging wife. But then when am I allowed to say something. Should I just allow myself to be walked on? Are my concerns not relevant? So what exactly am I allowed to complain about, is what I want to know.
Here is another point of contention.
On the weekend, we helped my sis, S, move. This weekend also happened to be the start of DH's March break from school. So he has plans that he is going to paint my oldest's room. He was somewhat disgruntled on Saturday because I had told my mother and sister N that after we helped S, we would go over to their's for dinner. He "didn't expect to be gone all day, and had wanted to get started on R's room."
Well, too bad. I don't get to see my family as often as I like, and I'm not going to rush home and not see them just because he had plans he failed to mention to me. And I am sure that he wouldn't have carried those plans out anyway for a couple of reasons.
A) We ended up staying at N and D's later than normal because he couldn't tear himself away from the tv set and the gold medal curling game, so why would he have been stripping R's room if he was wanting to watch that?
B) He is currently upstairs playing the Wii. It is now 10:30 Monday morning, and he hasn't set foot in R's room.
So what was the big rush? I think he just didn't want to hang out with my family (why I don't know) and to that I say tough sh*t and if I have to hang out with his, then it goes both ways!! Never mind that the past few times I've been over to their place, he hasn't come.
So here we are again. Me, bottling it up. I could go upstairs and point out that he was so eager to get going on the room on Sat. and so what happened? I could even go up there and point out that he is being a lazy ass and to go get a job. But that's just getting a little bitchy, don'tcha think? (And yeah, I'm sitting here blogging, so that'd be a little like the pot calling the kettle black.)
But I won't.
Because again, I don't want to be labelled as a nagger.
So now I have to come up with a creative way to point out what he should be doing. Perhaps I will ask him if I should help him to start cleaning up in there, or moving furniture, or something of that nature.
See, woman also have to be creative and manipulative too.
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