Went back to the gym this morning after a string of mild injuries, then a day filled with work, then scrambled to cook and eat dinner in 45 minutes (unless you make hot dogs in the microwave, I don’t think it can be done), took the kids to cheer practice, led my first-ever NAMI Peer to Peer class on Zoom, put the kids to bed, took out the trash, and now I’m too exhausted to go to sleep. This is the only photo I can manage today.
Author: peanut7312
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January 22
The girls had an impromptu practice before this morning’s competition, and even though they didn’t pull off one of their stunts in today’s performance, they still improved their score by seven points from yesterday. They didn’t place well because they were in a tougher category today, but still something to be proud of. I think, though, that everyone was grateful to go home after this weekend. This stuff is grueling for everyone.
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January 21
Cheerleading is so exhausting. I’m sure for the cheerleaders, too. Robin loves it, though, and I love seeing her love something. Makes it totally worth it. Oh yeah, and for the first time ever, they did not come in last place! They pulled in seventh out of ten and earned a banner for the gym. I’m really proud of them. Day two tomorrow. Gulp.
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January 20
Another cheerleading weekend. I introduced the kids to Outback Steakhouse and they both regretted not ordering steak and mashed potatoes after I got my meal. I’m tired of Orlando traffic, by the way.
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January 19
Today was a little beyond. It started when someone hacked into one of my accounts and spent $1300 on my stored credit card. Then there was the ER visit for Robin, who somehow managed to get a chunk of wood wedged halfway down her thumbnail and needed it extracted. I don’t know if it was really worth an ER visit, but the urgent care receptionist sent us there, and I know for sure I wasn’t about to try to take it out myself. The thing about today is that it’s still not over.
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January 18
I started tracking food on Weight Watchers again today. My turkey sandwich was worth half my points for the whole day. At least it tasted good. I can see I’m going to have to work harder at this.
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January 17
Christina spent some birthday money on a new watch and a four-foot long cat stuffie, and they both arrived today while she was at school. We walked home today and Christina basically ran the last tenth of a mile to get to her package. I made her get the mail and wait for me to put away the garbage can and then started joking around that I hoped I could find my keys in my purse, taking my time ruffling around. Christina went insane and I finally gave in and pulled out my keys, only to find that I actually didn’t have my house key. The keypad for the garage door wasn’t working either. So we went all around the house trying to find a window to crawl through. Christina was in a rage, literally throwing patio furniture across the yard and kicking tables. We finally managed to pry the screen off the kitchen window and get in that way. Thank goodness, too, because I think I might have had to take Christina to the hospital if she had to wait much longer for her birthday gifts.
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January 16
Robin got a cookbook filled with cookie recipes for Christmas, and from about three and a half minutes after opening it, couldn’t wait to make these cookies. We literally spent the whole day making them. It’s 10:30pm and I just plated them. They did not come out as intended. Turns out this was quite a complicated recipe for an 11-year-old, involving chocolate tempering, fluffing eggs, setting batter, and many, many overlapping steps. Even though they are not what they looked like in the book, it was Robin’s favorite part of the day, and she’s looking forward to eating hers for breakfast in the morning and trying this recipe again.
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January 15
We couldn’t alter our hotel reservation for the cheer competition, so we decided to make the most of it and spent a chilly morning at nearby Silver Spring State Park. I had “I’m bored” in one ear and “I’m tired” in the other and “I’m cold” in stereo. Despite what they said, I think they enjoyed it. Call it mother’s intuition.
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January 14
Today was the girls’ first cheerleading competition of the season. I am so not cut out to be a cheer mom, and the day was disappointing because no one at their level was even eligible for any awards at the end of the long day, which we didn’t find out until we sat through everyone else’s awards. But the girls showed so much improvement over last year and they deserve big time props for getting out there and kicking butt. I’m proud of both of them. Four more of these things to go.
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January 13
Salt and pepper shaker wars at the hotel Cracker Barrel in beautiful Ocala, FL. The drive from Jacksonville goes through miles and miles of nothing and sure enough, Christina had to go to the bathroom in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t quite make it to the gas station before it was too late. But here we are, two bickering girls and me at the Hampton Inn.
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January 12
On today’s agenda: Dance class, pork loin and roasted potatoes, leading a church workshop on writing sermons. On that last topic: What the hell do I know about writing sermons? This should be fun.
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January 10
Another day buried in credit card legal disclosures and quality quandaries and fighting over the TV controller and homework and figuring out what to make for dinner. Life doesn’t get any better than this.
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January 9
It’s been a long time since I took an actual photograph with an actual camera, let alone in low light. I think it shows.
