Tag: parenting

Uncategorised

Just Eat It

I didn’t sleep very well or very long. I didn’t let myself sleep in because I knew I wanted to get some meals in, so I took Muad’Dib outside and then brought some breakfast back upstairs with us. I was really proud of him when he did a great job of sitting by a table alone while I went into the other room to get food. Summer was slow to get out of bed, but then I slowed down a bit as we were trying to get out of the room. We ended up checking out right on time, and made our way down the road to Southern Tail for brunch.

Summer walked up to the front and learned that they were only seating people with reservations, which would have been nice to know before we planned an entire weekend around the event. They didn’t take any of her information, and instead told us to come back around 12:30. We sat in the car until then, but when I walked back in to ask about seating, I was told there was a wait list, and we wouldn’t get a seat until around one. That they the girl got my number and called us back in at 12:35.

We got seated outside as the heat intensified. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t fresh feeling. There was a pretty good band playing live, and the food was good though. Service was slow, so we didn’t have much for drinks, but it was an okay time. It might have been worth the price at a better season with some good company.

We headed straight home after that, and had a little bit of time to lounge before heading to my parents’ house to swim. The pool was surprisingly cold, and by then most of it was in the shade. Julie and Kevin eventually showed up with some Popeye’s chicken and we picked at a little bit of food.

I was completely beat by the time we got home, so I shut down quickly and got ready for bed.

What did you expect?

Uncategorised

Passersby

We stopped at Shipley’s for a kolache and free donut this morning. It was a quiet day at work, and I just kept repeatedly testing Intune policies all day. We took a break for some Sonic, and then we did a quick run up the road on the Onewheel since I just transferred it from Summer’s trunk to my own earlier in the morning. The afternoon dragged a bit, and somehow everyone snuck out and locked me in at the end of the day.

Along the way home, we ran into some heavy traffic right at Blackwell, so we exited and took the highway home. We stopped at the old house to check out the lawn, then made it home where Eaddie had stopped in earlier in the day. She never said a word to me, so I tried to quietly mouth to Summer about my earplugs, and that lead to a fight later on.

I cleaned up, took care of a bunch of Vine stuff, and threw out a bunch of food from the refrigerator that had gone bad. Then I took what was left, made some fresh rice, and had everyone gather for a little bit of dinner. Eaddie left, and I took Muad’Dib on a short run because he wasn’t super motivated to move. We visited my parents and then helped a kid re-chain his e-bike because he had no clue how it was supposed to be attached. Summer was in bed for a race early in the morning, so I stayed up late tinkering with my new Anbernic RG Rotate. I assumed it was something that would be ready to go out of the box, but it absolutely was not.

potato

Uncategorised

Import-ant

We had a little bit of rain this morning, but nothing more than a sprinkle. We got there early and went straight upstairs where I thought I was going to easily have an import ready into the sandbox. Boy, was I wrong. I got Tammy to come upstairs to talk to me about it for a while, and I think I finally understood enough to continue on with my test. Muad’Dib didn’t like her there, or anyone else for that matter. He jumped and snipped at her, so he was in trouble for the rest of the day.

We went to Sonic for a small, cheap lunch, but then grabbed some curly fries from Arby’s on the way back. I fought with Traverse, Excel, and everything else the rest of the afternoon. I ended up leaving a little later and walked out with everyone else, but that meant traffic was a little better somehow. For some reason, my car didn’t have a data connection for navigation, even though streaming music and everything else was still working.

We made it home where Eaddie had Eli and Ceci over. Summer was in a bath, but eventually came out to have dinner with me. I was frustrated with Eaddie for still not having my earplugs, and she kept giving both of us attitude when we asked about them. We have a concert next weekend, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t have what’s mine.

I eventually drained the basement again while I took Muad’Dib out for a late run, finishing up in the dark. Then I did some more cleanup and reviews until a late bedtime as my legs continued to swell from being out of my hydrochlorothiazide.

And now we’re out of lisinopril, too.

Uncategorised

Long Day Under Water

I woke up last night with an intense pain in my right foot, which I’m guessing was from the weight of the covers, as light as they were. My feet have been hurting from the Onewheel, and I guess it was just sensitive to the pressure while I was asleep on my back for a while. We managed to get out with another burrito, but this time it was actually a little juicy somehow. It dripped through my fingers and I got a drop on my shirt, but it wasn’t too bad. We made it in for another day on the struggle bus, but I did get assessment mode working on a test machine.

We went to Sonic for lunch, but I didn’t feel great. It was super windy and hot, and I was already tired. It had been kind of a long morning, but the afternoon dragged on even worse. It felt like I was there for three days. Near the end of it, Joel came in to ask me to think about a way to automate some manual data entry stuff that they’re doing, so I went downstairs to talk to Rhonda about it. The whole process was awful, and worse, I had no idea where to start to make it better. I’ve just got to get up and spend some time downstairs with these people to see what they’re doing.

We got home a little late, but Summer had chicken ready for me to throw on the grill, so I got that started. We had a quick barbecue chicken dinner with some potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and then did a quick cleanup. Afterward, I drained the basement and took Muad’Dib on a short, modified run. We briefly stopped to see my parents, but tried to get back home early.

Eaddie was gone helping Autumn move all evening, but had to come by for a bunch of boxes. She was upset that after all of the behavior issues and nonsense everyone has had to deal with, Autumn continues to just get whatever she wants all of the time. She’s got a nice house that everyone keeps filling with things she wants instead of making her tough it out with some cheaper starter stuff. She said she wasn’t going to have nearly as much stuff when she finally moved out, and I told her she would, because she would also have the respect of everyone around her for doing it on her own.

I cleaned up a bunch more, and finally ran to bed, fretful that it would only be Thursday.

Come on, brain. Do the thing!

Uncategorised

They-Merch

Summer got up to make pancakes this morning, but realized that she had almost none of the ingredients she needed. Evidently she planned to have Eaddie go fetch what was missing when she left to go pick up her car that she didn’t bring home for some reason, and Eaddie didn’t get the memo that we were waiting on her to be able to cook said breakfast. I pushed Summer to call her back, and of course she didn’t answer her phone. By then it was nearly time to get ready to leave for our matinee of Masters of the Universe, but she insisted that she wanted to go pick up the ingredients herself and at least make eggs, sausage, and toast.

We had breakfast, I got cleaned up, and we left for Conway. We arrived with time to get snacks, upgrade Summer to a collectible cup, and catch the few previews that played between a bunch of other commercials.

I kind of wanted to see the movie, but I wasn’t nearly as excited as Summer. I still couldn’t believe she grew up completely unaware of the original movie, and I knew nothing of the cartoon. She only knew the cartoon. It was a fun movie that didn’t take itself seriously at all, though not to the extent that Barbie didn’t. It was entertaining, and the best role I’ve personally seen Jared Leto play.

After the movie, we headed to Sam’s Club to see what they had, and then we landed at Chuy’s for dinner. Summer loved how fabulous our server was, and we both had food to take home. Muad’Dib was incredibly excited to see us, so I let him run alongside me as I took the baby robot mower to my parents’ house. Then I took him on a short ride around the block on the Onewheel.

Summer had long been in bed, but I managed to get things cleaned up, fight with the garage door remote programming, and get ready for work in the morning in record time, and then headed to bed myself.

Life is a series of absurdities leading to infinite nothingness.

Uncategorised

Child Labor

I had the hardest time falling asleep last night, and felt like I had been run over by a truck when I had to get up. We managed to make it to work, and Janice had left me a slice of banana bread, which helped. It was a really long day to myself after that.

The sun was out in full force for lunch. We went to Sonic because they had a couple deals that would stack for a lot of food. The sun was so bright, I would swear I got a sunburn just walking from the car back into the office. The afternoon was long as well, but we finally got to head home.

Eaddie had Eli and Ceci over at my parents’ house to uncover the pool and wash the cover, and they were all done by the time Summer and I made it over there. They left to shower while I started frying eggrolls, and then they came back to eat along with Julie and Kevin.

It was a big crowd for dinner, but it was staggered, and we worked around the space we had. Everyone filtered out and Summer drove home to deal with the newly diagnosed arthritis in her knee. I took Muad’Dib on the remainder of his run, and tried to hurry him along to avoid the incoming storm. We got a little wet, but it wasn’t too bad.

The kids came back over and watched a scary movie all night. Summer hadn’t been charging, so I had to stay up to juggle the cars around. She may just have to supercharge tomorrow morning, because like everything else in this house, the car charger doesn’t work quite right.

More noggin!

Uncategorised

Ortega Bros.

It was a little rainy, but really misty this morning, so I had to use my meats to drive to work. The weather wasn’t bad once we got there, but it showered again at least once while we were there. I had my head buried in Intune for most of the day, and was stuck waiting on my test computer for much of that.

Lunch time came around, and Grant had planned to meet me for some Ortega’s, so I walked out with Muad’Dib and waited for him. We rode to the restaurant together and had a good meal and chat. I think we’ll plan on some double date stuff soonish, and I’m hoping Summer can make a good friend of her own out of it since I don’t really know Jana at all.

I had an anxiety attack in the afternoon that left me slightly dazed, and then incredibly sleepy for the rest of the afternoon. It may have just been yesterday dragging me down, but I tried another cup of coffee and didn’t feel super smurfy for it. It felt like maybe it was stress, but I didn’t think I felt like I had any reason to be stressed.

We made it to the end of the day and ran to therapy. Summer finished up at the lube and then we had a decent session. I don’t really think the book is helping as much as if we were just talking through some of the specific pain points we have, but at least it gives us a guided tour, regardless of whether the topics are relevant ot us.

Mom had more bún bò Huế for dinner, so we headed home to change. Summer took a shower while I ran Muad’Dib, and then she and Eaddie met us there for dinner. I tried to help clean up a little, and then we made it home to try and wind down early. I showed Eaddie how to clean the hair out of the vacuum brush, Eli came over late, and they went to watch a movie since Eaddie had been cleaning up her stuff all day.

Water!

Uncategorised

In Memoriam

I decided to stop the iron supplements today so I could level out before my eventual annual checkup. We had brunch planned at IHOP for Autumn’s birthday, and we barely got around for that. Eaddie slept late while Summer had to go to Atkins to pick up Noah. Things immediately started going wrong.

The restaurant was pretty busy, and they were not prepared. A table behind us had some kind of drama going on, so a manager demanded that they leave. When they refused, he walked away saying the cops would remove them. Things settled down pretty immediately after that, and we eventually got our order in. Of course, it was a full hour before we saw a morsel of food, so we sipped ice waters until then.

Afterward, I ended up taking Muad’Dib home while Summer dropped Noah off. Eaddie wanted to go ride bikes, so I was tasked with getting out the bike rack in the heat of midday. I immediately started pouring sweat in the humidity, but we eventually got everything loaded, aired up, and ready to go.

We had a false start when my watch incorrectly alerted me that I had left my phone. We turned back before I realized it actually was in my pocket. We got to the lake and unloaded the bikes, but I realized I didn’t have Muad’Dib’s collar remote, so I left Summer with him on a leash and ran back home.

I couldn’t find the remote at first, and in the process, I dumped a full tumbler of water all over the kitchen floor. I mopped that up, dried my socks, and eventually loaded up again. The kids had gotten their bikes and started riding around the marina, and Summer was walking around with Muad’Dib. I brought my Onewheel since I wasn’t sure what the mood would be like after I had been gone so long.

Summer got Muad’Dib into the water and splashed around with him a bit. I was still hot and burned out, so I mostly sat from that point on, but I did take Muad’Dib for a couple short runs. Eaddie, Eli, and Ceci eventually came back around and hung out with us before we loaded up to go back home.

We unloaded and the kids went for more biking while I took Muad’Dib to my parents’ house for a brief visit. Summer started a bath for him when we got back, but I made it in there to take over, which upset her for some reason. She always refuses any time I mention that maybe she could bathe him, so I just didn’t get it.

I got him bathed and she helped dry him. Then I vacuumed a ton of hair off of him before finally getting to wind down for bed. Eaddie got home and took a shower, but then started to leave again. Summer was in bed, so I had to play bad cop again and tell her she needed to give their family a break and stay home to finish cleaning her bathroom and bedrooms, which have been complete wrecks all week.

Finally, I made a mad dash to finish up for bed, exhausted from the break.

And not one “thank you” was heard.

Uncategorised

Reedy or Not

I slept in pretty well today, and hoped that would help my recent concerns. Summer and I ate some leftovers and Eaddie left to get ready for Jenny’s recital in the afternoon. The whole day went by pretty quickly, but I tried to stay useful and productive. Summer took some time to get out her old laptop and play Torchlight II, which seemed like a good mental health break.

I got showered and we barely made it out of the house in time to drop Muad’Dib off with Dad before making it to the recital. Eaddie was only playing in one of the songs, but it was a nice, quiet show with just a bunch of the band kids and families. The kids did great, and then afterwards I saw Russ and talked to him for a moment before heading out.

Summer really wanted ice cream, so we went to Las Delicias where she got a cone and I got a mangonada. I didn’t think it was as good as Bocadillos, and I didn’t much care for the atmosphere being dark and loud, so we left and headed back to my parents’ house to get Muad’Dib. We visited there for a while before I really wanted to find dinner.

I wanted to try and find something with a bit more nutrition than the leftover Ridgewood nachos that were in the refrigerator, so we drove across town looking. We turned around at the old Valley Park Center where they had a whole lot of construction finishing up. Then we stopped at Aldi’s to see what aldi fuss was about. It was surprisingly cold and quiet in there, with a pretty limited selection. It didn’t seem worth the drive to me.

I got a box of salad, and we headed home to eat the last of the spaghetti squash casserole that Summer made. Then she cleaned the kitchen while I picked up around the house. She eventually went back to Torchlight and I took Muad’Dib on a run to take some old shirts to Dad before his surgery in the morning.

We wound down a bit more, then I did my best to get to bed on time.

DRINK MORE!

Uncategorised

Family Assembled

We slept in a while today after a long day yesterday. Summer got up, and I followed to make breakfast croissants. Then Eaddie got up and they spent the day together cleaning up the porch and assembling planters I had gotten from Amazon Vine. We originally had plans to have Mother’s Day with Eli’s family, but several of them couldn’t come down, so they wanted to try for another time.

The day went by pretty quickly, but it felt good to get so much done. There’s more to clean up, but we have at least a little more space now than before. We wanted to do something with my mom, but they didn’t want to go out to dinner with everyone else in town, so Summer and I went to Popeye’s to pick up some chicken.

Eaddie went to visit her grandparents while we waited in the longest line I’d ever seen at that restaurant. The drive-through was wrapped around the building and there was another line inside, but they did a fantastic job of working through all the orders.

We made it to my parents’ house, and then Julie responded that they had been napping all day, but they’d end up coming to visit. Eaddie showed up late as well, so we didn’t wait for her to eat. It was a good time, and then Eaddie took Summer home. I followed a little later and let Muad’Dib run off some energy before driving him the last couple blocks.

We ended the evening watching some of the Kevin Hart roast on Netflix, but we didn’t start early enough to finish it. I was proud of Summer for staying up as late as she did, but we had to get sleep before work.

Motherhood takes many forms.