Just Catching Up

*Sigh*
Report cards are finished...for the most part. I have done my part and they are on my appraiser's desk waiting approval. Hopefully, he pushes them through with few comments.

It was a very busy week here in Victoryland.

• Friday, Football Friday Night Lights for the 8th graders. Gary takes all of us to one of our last outings as a four member family.
• Saturday, dance practice for Caitlin's solo. Gary is still here to watch James. Thank goodness for small favors. Gary and I pack feverishly all the things he wants to have with him while he stays at the executive apartment in KC.
• Sunday, we say goodbye and I stay home from church. We meet mom for lunch and plan for her Tuesday departure to visit one of my dad's sisters in Connecticut.
• Monday, I am slated for jury duty but am exempt. I am worried that my exemption letter didn't make it there on time so I call them at 8:44 - one minute before I am supposed to be there to verify my exemption. I am cleared. There also is dance tonight, so no staying late at school. I did have to drive out of the area to pick up a travel sized set of Mary Kay skin care for my mother...ding ding ding...gas tank telling me "You are out of gas."
• Tuesday, Mom drives herself to the airport because I can't take off of work. Caitlin has to go to her friend Lilu's house to work on a science project after school. It is all I can do to keep from telling them they are doing it all wrong. They soon realize it and have to start all over. This will probably not be a prize winning project, but they will have done it on their own. Biggest problem with Lilu's house is that she has two cats. Caitlin is highly allergic so when I pick her up, I take her to the grocery store for some allergy medicine. It takes her all the way until Friday to get better. The culprit!
• Wednesday starts with Caitlin calling me at 7:30 telling me that she was having problems breathing. Being at school without a sub and no grandmother to pick her up and no husband to carry the burden, I do the unthinkable and tell her just to stay home and take a Benadryl. There is nothing I could do because we have to meet with the principal with a full report on each child how we think they are doing and what interventions we are using with them to ensure they are successful (read as pass the state assessment.) They call this meeting the State of the Union (SOU) and everyone frets over it. I don't. The day before I enter all of my info in the database, type up a brief summary on each child and put the summary in a pretty spreadsheet with bright colors. Problem solved. He likes colors. We stay up all night to get a past due Holocaust project completed in time for school Thursday.
  
• Thursday, another traipse to Lilu's for more science project revisions and preparation of the display board. By now, Caitlin's allergy medications kicks in and she only wheezes slightly.
• Friday is an early out. Fortunately, I remember this on Wednesday and make arrangements with a friend who lives out of town to come pick up James from school at 12:45. I promise her I will pick him up shortly after 4 p.m. .... Guess what! 3:45 finds me still entering comments on report cards finishing up exactly at 4 p.m. .... I think I am late. I call my friend and say I am just now leaving. She asks if James can stay until 7 p.m. because her son just got off the bus and really wants to play with James. I say yes. Gary calls. He tells me he is on the road to Tulsa to fish with his uncle because he couldn't bear to stay in KC by himself for the entire weekend. During the call, Lilu texts, "Can Caitlin spend the night?" After a short consult with Gary, he says yes. I drive home to get Caitlin and drop her off at her friend's house. 6:15 p.m. I text my friend to tell her that I am on my way to get James. She asks if James can spend the night. I say yes to save me a late night drive out to the country. .... Unfortunately, 9 p.m. comes around and James is suddenly homesick. After much listening, peptalking and the use of one Elmo doll, he agrees to try it a little longer and crashes in the bed. .... Can it be true?? I am home alone with no 5 year old in my bed?? Needless to say, I slept the whole night long.
• Today! Packing brownies for an afternoon bake sale. Picking up the wayward daughter. Driving to dance lessons and playing videographer. Rushing to the Interstate in time to pick up James so my friend can get to a funeral. Stopping at the toy store to return a defective set of walkie talkies. Dropping off a gift card at a bridal shower that I really wanted to attend but couldn't. Getting a text message that previously mentioned bake sale is canceled due to lightning. Collapsing in my bed. Photo - Courtesy of Miruspeg July 2010