Ha Ha Halloween

Tonight was a first for me.  My kids went trick-or-treating without either my husband or me!  I gotta admit, it felt a little odd.  For MANY years, I was the only parent who took the kids trick-or-treating.  The hubby was almost always working, so the task fell to me.  I spent years hearding multiple children along sidewalks and carrying the candy bucket for our daughter who uses arm crutches.  After a few houses, she'd just skip the ones with lots of porch steps. Then just about 4-5 years ago, as life transitioned, I was able to get a break and stay home and hand out the candy and my husband would take the kids.  I was SO thankful when he'd take them on those FREEEEZING Halloweens.  They'd return home with hands frozen around the bucket handle with my husband carrying the one whose hands were sore from using her crutches. 

But tonight, I only had one trick-or-treater (a skeleton) and his older brother along with the neighbor boy who is his age took our skeleton, the little neighbor girl and a family friend of ours.  I got to stay home and visit with my friend while one of my daughters handed out candy until her ride to a slumber party showed up to whisk her away.  Then my friend and I got to sit outside on such a beautiful night and enjoy all those little Spidermen, Brides of Frankenstein and princesses.  I gave out 10 bags of candy and ran out before the kids did!

BUT...and you knew there had to be a but, didn't you?  What has happened to basic manners?  Not even half of the kids tonight said 'thank you'.  Most didn't even bother to say 'trick-or-treat'!  What's with that?? 

There were a couple of funny spots in the night, though.  At one point, two boys who were at least 14 and not wearing costumes, walked up.  The first one immediately said a catchy rhyme and 'earned' a treat. I have a policy that I do NOT give candy to teens who are not wearing costumes but are carrying pillow cases.  Now the second boy was slightly chunkier than the first and he apparently expected to ride on the rhyming coat tails of his pal.  No go!  He gestured that I should just shovel in some candy and I said he should do a treat.  We went back and forth a few times.  I suggested he could at the very least tell a joke.  At this point, I had to stop the first boy from jumping in to tell a joke and rescue his friend!  Finally, the chunky boy told a joke and I gave him candy.  Liz and I thought perhaps we should've made him do jumping jacks or push ups to earn the treat. 

There were LOTS of adults who carried their own bags and expected candy, one person who asked for candy for 'a sick kid at home' and get this: one boy took his candy without saying thanks and then said, "Can I have one for my grandma?"  It took me by surprise!  His GRANDMA?  That was a new one!  I said, "Your grandma?" and he said, "Yes."  Heck, I gave him another candy bar for even having the guts to ask for extra candy for his grandma with a straight face.

When all the candy was gone, we ate Mexican food and enjoyed good company.  It almost seemed too easy!  Well, for me at least.  Hubby got called out since the employee who is actually on call tonight was taking his little guy trick-or-treating.  I hated to see him go, but I'm thankful for business and I know how hard it is to be the only parent to take the kids out on Halloween, so I didn't want to have to call our employee in.

OH ,and my 16 year old daughter went to a party dressed as Heidi Klum....who is pregnant!  It was a hoot!  Her dad didn't think it was so funny but I reminded him that when she dressed up as a witch or a doctor when she was younger did not destine her to become either of those things.  I did make her remove her belly when she drove!! (Oh, if only I could've done that when actually pregnant!)

All in all, a lovely and relaxing Halloween evening. 

1:45 pm CST. I'm finished being irritated at my son. Deep breath in...blow it out. It's all good.

I'm a Frayed Knot

Seriously, people!  Why did Nebraska have to do away with that law whereby you could drop off your child, of any age, at a hospital for any reason with no legal repercussion.  I've got a 13 year old whom I'd like to put in a box with a sign that reads 'Free to Good Home'.  The home doesn't even have to be that good.  I've got low standards.

This particular boy has some medical issues that cause him to have stiff legs.  With PT he could improve quite a bit, but he's not so interested in working on it.  Unfortunately for him, he also wants to wrestle in school.  He wrestled last year in 7th grade.  Our coach had to tell the other coach that their team couldn't bend his legs hard.  Now that he is in 8th grade, that doesn't seem quite fair to tell the other team they can't wrestle him fairly.  SO, because I don't want to stand in his way of miraculous wrestling success, I made a deal with him. If he would work on his knee flexibility throughout the year, we would give wrestling serious consideration. (He can do serious damage to his joints if they are just wrenched back).  He agreed to this.  He worked on his knees a grand total of 4 times.

Yesterday he called me from school to say, "Mom, I think I'm going to go out for wrestling and today is the meeting so I'll have to stay after school for that."

EXCUSE ME???????  I'm telling you that this boy lives in a magical land where he is entitled to everything he REALLY wants, simply becuase he REALLY wants it.  Oh, wouldn't that be nice?  I told him that he was not going out for wrestling and I'd pick him up at the regular time.  He was not happy.

After school when we 'discussed' (that's the nice blogger way of saying I railed at him for 35 hours) it he said that he figured I'd change my mind and besides 'I would get what I want and he would get what he wants.'  Oh that was rich...I asked what he meant.  He said that he would get to wrestle and I would get good grades!  (He actually believed this was sound reasoning).

And yet, I had to question him as to WHY, on God's green earth, could he not get good grades unless he was wrestling?  He said that he couldn't wrestle if he had an "F", therefore, he would keep his grades up.

Ridiculous reasoning aside, I pointed out that he had failed to hold up his end of our bargain.  He said he just thinks it's hopeless and he won't improve so he doesn't work on it.  (Same line of thought that promped him to sit on the couch and watch TV while grounded rather than clean baseboards in family room.  There are couches and chairs in there and it would be hard to get to baseboards.  So, he didn't even try.)  Is your blood pressure rising yet, or is it just me?

There is no rational conversation with him.  He only sees his point of view and argues with statements that don't even make sense.  WHY do I get drawn in?  Because I continue to harbor hope that one day...ONE DAY he is going to dial in and get it.

I know I am ranting here.  I see that.  I own that.  But lately I am just up to my eyeballs in doing what needs to be done for everyone and everything; plus my BFF Sharon gave me till 2pm CST to stew about it and then I have to get out of the pot and let it go.  She's a good friend like that.  She didn't say I had to get over myself immediately.  I really appreciate that.

WELL, now that I've got that off my chest, I'm going to march on with the day.  At 2:00 pm CST I will officially LET IT GO and then I will go enjoy my 4th grader's Halloween Party at school.  Sure wish I still had some of those Snicker bars to take.

Drawing it to a Close...

Good grief.  I am never going to win Mother of the Year at this rate.  My children are surely going to drag me onto the Montel show some day.  I feel like I'm at this odd place in life.  I have a 21 year old married son....several kids...and a 9 year old son.  Where do I fit in?  Do I fit in with the parents of 21 year olds?  Am I in the "we have married kids' group? or do I fit into the 'I have an elementary schooler' group?  I don't know how to dress.  I don't want to wear those horrible matronly clothes that just scream "I've given up!" and I shouldn't really wear clothes that are for younger moms.  I don't want to wear the same things my daughter-in-law wears.  Of course, she looks adorable every minute of ever day...but is she going to feel creepy if we show up at church with similar outifit on?

Well, anyway.  Maybe I'll just wear sweatpants every day, stop washing my hair and wear light blue eyeshadow and pastel pink lipstick.  Niiiice.

It's obvious now that I really have nothing to say tonight, isnt' it?  Rick is still at the hospital with his dad and I have nobody to talk to.  It's only YOU!! 

Guess I'll just sign off and finish watching "Real Life Housewives of Atlanta".  Yes, I am high class.

And the day wears on...

Yeah, yeah...I showered hours ago but time has, again, not allowed time for any activity of my own choosing.  Oh, but I'm not giving up.  No-sir-ree bobtail!  I AM going to blog even if I have to do it in my sleep.  Hmm...maybe I'll blog while awake and clean the bathroom in my sleep.  THAT would be much better.

I spent the better part of today sitting in the hospital with my dad-in-law.  He's having some TIAs and is pretty frustrated by it all.  The vision in his right eye comes and goes and boy does that tick him off!  I thought it could totally work in my favor if he could only see half of me, I'd look thinner.  I am considering buying eye patches for everyone I encounter.  What?  It is too a good idea!

I am currently stealing time from making dinner.  Meatloaf is on my menu for tonight and I just don't want to make it.  I HATE putting my hands in all that nasty raw meat and eggs...gak!  I am not a fan of hamburger in general so....  I wish the dinner fairy would magically appear and *poof* a fabu dinner on the table!  I get so tired of cooking that I felt like I was on a fancy date when my hubby bought me lunch at the hospital cafeteria today.  What a sad state of affairs.

But cook I must.  Perhaps I'll cheese out and make tater tot casserole.  The kids like it.  I'll eat a salad...or maybe 30 more of those snack-sized Snickers I bought to hand out on Halloween.

And the opening salvo is fired from my Blackberry! I will post more after I've showered. Hooray, right?