Thursday, April 12, 2007
The minutiae of my school holiday life.
No whinges, no tapping off.. just 'minutiae'.
It might not be very interesting though. Sometimes I think me having a rant is much more exciting.
I've done a lot of sleeping in, which I feel a bit guilty about, especially when Marc is having to go to work, and the work is stressful to the point that I am quite concerned about him.
He likened it last night to having about 20 cakes to make at once, and everyone's cake order is urgent, so he is having to try to make them all at once, instead of what would be the sensible thing to do and make them one after the other. Problem with doing that is he has 'contractors' he must supervise - and he can't leave them doing nothing while he concentrates on making sure his cakes are done properly, because they will be being paid a few hundred dollars an hour to do nothing.
Meantime the cake orders keep coming in (and he gets more emails in a day than he has time to deal with). And people from that project in Malaysia coming out today and tomorrow, so that one guy who has 'all the knowledge in his head' can impart what he knows.
Maybe I should have made him resign.
At least he got sleep-ins over Easter. And at least given I'm at home, he doesn't have to worry about what's for dinner, and all that sort of crap. Except when I do stuff like make bolognaise for dinner, then realise I didn't buy spaghetti while I was in town! And so he has to stop at the shops and buy spaghetti on the way home.
We went in to the shops on Tuesday because #1 had organised to go iceskating with friends. I was feeling blecchy that day (hence forgetting the spaghetti) but it didn't stop me spending money... (or maybe that's what made me spend money!)
I bought this apple slicing/coring/peeling machine:
I had seen it at christmas time when we visited a friend, and I thought back then "I want one!". She'd got it through a school fundraiser thingy though. I'd forgotten about it till someone mentioned bringing theirs to netball so we might try to flog some slightly healthier alternatives to all the lollies we sell. She told me where I could buy one around here.
I think we are going to be getting through a lot more apples around here, simply because of the novelty value. It's even making me eat one right now.
I also bought some new sandals for me. Don't get too excited. These are Orthaheel casual slip-on sandals to wear around the house, and not too far afield. Given that I have to wear orthotics in my normal shoes, you can imagine how hard it is to wear casual slip-ons. The girls have not called them 'Grandma shoes' yet - they probably realise they will get a flea in their ear if they do.
And I had to buy the younger two more joggers. Ali's were coming apart at the sole, and Zoe was growing out of hers. Kids! Why do they have to keep growing (and wearing things out?!)
They wear them everyday for school, plus need them to be ok for cross country which is coming up this term. I went in to Amart Sports because I felt I should attempt to buy cheaper shoes if at all possible. I wasn't in the headspace for it - feeling a bit nauseous and dizzy. Then I survey tables upon tables of shoes on sale, as well as all the shoes at 'normal' prices on the wall display. It made me more dizzy. How the hell would I know what was an appropriate fit.?(Given my orthotic issues, I have always erred on the side of expense and having them fitted for shoes which give them appropriate support, as they all tend to pronate like I do - or so the machine at Athlete's Foot tells me.) I was asked if I needed some assistance, and when I said yes, we need joggers, and they need to be measured, the guy said 'Um, we can't find our shoe measurerer at the moment.'
FFS!! Oh well, it was the excuse I needed to walk out, drive round to the Plaza, and let Athletes Foot do all the decision making for me. The only problem I had there was that there was only the one style in kids shoes (which thank heavens Ali still fits in, even though she could also fit in an adult's size at around $50 more!)- BUT! They only had that style with PINK bits, and my 11, nearly 12, year old daughter DOES NOT LIKE PINK. Nor is she particularly enamoured of having exactly the same shoes as her 8 year old sister!!
Her only other option was the boys' style, and it had far too much black on it for her liking. I buried my head in my hands for a minute.. and Thankfully! she opted for the lesser of two evils - pink trim. And, after the assistant suggested it, she came home and coloured over some of the trim with a blue texta.
Had a lazy day yesterday. Guilty as anything because I spent far too much of it inside, and it was the best day we'd had since the start of the holidays/Easter. Wind had dropped to a bearable level. Finally I dragged Zoe with me to walk up onto the headland near us (and then walk up the beach with me), so that I got a big dose of 'DO YOU REALISE JUST HOW BLOODY LUCKY YOU ARE LIVING WHERE YOU DO?'
Our house is only one street back from the street along the beachfront.
And this is 'our' headland.
Meanwhile Caitlin stayed in her pjs ALL DAY, and I just didn't have the energy to hassle her. Her logic is that in term time it's full on (and she is right), so I suppose, why shouldn't she be a sloth. Even if it's excruciatingly hard to deal with as a parent because you feel she should be out in the fresh air getting just a little bit of exercise...
Today we have to hit the shops again, this time for her, because, goddammit, the girl has grown out of pretty much all her clothes. Hello puberty, belated as it is compared to her peers. Problem is this is just the start of it, really. She has finally got the height, but is just starting with the shape. So it is a bit scary wondering how long anything we buy today will fit her. The girl does need to wear clothes though, so there is nothing for it but to buy stuff.
What is even more scary is if she doesn't fit into the chainstore clothes anymore, and we have to venture in to the OTHER shops.. the ones with the REALLY REALLY LOUD music, and clothes that are designed to only go half way up their bum crack.
Wish me luck.
It might not be very interesting though. Sometimes I think me having a rant is much more exciting.
I've done a lot of sleeping in, which I feel a bit guilty about, especially when Marc is having to go to work, and the work is stressful to the point that I am quite concerned about him.
He likened it last night to having about 20 cakes to make at once, and everyone's cake order is urgent, so he is having to try to make them all at once, instead of what would be the sensible thing to do and make them one after the other. Problem with doing that is he has 'contractors' he must supervise - and he can't leave them doing nothing while he concentrates on making sure his cakes are done properly, because they will be being paid a few hundred dollars an hour to do nothing.
Meantime the cake orders keep coming in (and he gets more emails in a day than he has time to deal with). And people from that project in Malaysia coming out today and tomorrow, so that one guy who has 'all the knowledge in his head' can impart what he knows.
Maybe I should have made him resign.
At least he got sleep-ins over Easter. And at least given I'm at home, he doesn't have to worry about what's for dinner, and all that sort of crap. Except when I do stuff like make bolognaise for dinner, then realise I didn't buy spaghetti while I was in town! And so he has to stop at the shops and buy spaghetti on the way home.
We went in to the shops on Tuesday because #1 had organised to go iceskating with friends. I was feeling blecchy that day (hence forgetting the spaghetti) but it didn't stop me spending money... (or maybe that's what made me spend money!)
I bought this apple slicing/coring/peeling machine:
I had seen it at christmas time when we visited a friend, and I thought back then "I want one!". She'd got it through a school fundraiser thingy though. I'd forgotten about it till someone mentioned bringing theirs to netball so we might try to flog some slightly healthier alternatives to all the lollies we sell. She told me where I could buy one around here.
I think we are going to be getting through a lot more apples around here, simply because of the novelty value. It's even making me eat one right now.
I also bought some new sandals for me. Don't get too excited. These are Orthaheel casual slip-on sandals to wear around the house, and not too far afield. Given that I have to wear orthotics in my normal shoes, you can imagine how hard it is to wear casual slip-ons. The girls have not called them 'Grandma shoes' yet - they probably realise they will get a flea in their ear if they do.
And I had to buy the younger two more joggers. Ali's were coming apart at the sole, and Zoe was growing out of hers. Kids! Why do they have to keep growing (and wearing things out?!)
They wear them everyday for school, plus need them to be ok for cross country which is coming up this term. I went in to Amart Sports because I felt I should attempt to buy cheaper shoes if at all possible. I wasn't in the headspace for it - feeling a bit nauseous and dizzy. Then I survey tables upon tables of shoes on sale, as well as all the shoes at 'normal' prices on the wall display. It made me more dizzy. How the hell would I know what was an appropriate fit.?(Given my orthotic issues, I have always erred on the side of expense and having them fitted for shoes which give them appropriate support, as they all tend to pronate like I do - or so the machine at Athlete's Foot tells me.) I was asked if I needed some assistance, and when I said yes, we need joggers, and they need to be measured, the guy said 'Um, we can't find our shoe measurerer at the moment.'
FFS!! Oh well, it was the excuse I needed to walk out, drive round to the Plaza, and let Athletes Foot do all the decision making for me. The only problem I had there was that there was only the one style in kids shoes (which thank heavens Ali still fits in, even though she could also fit in an adult's size at around $50 more!)- BUT! They only had that style with PINK bits, and my 11, nearly 12, year old daughter DOES NOT LIKE PINK. Nor is she particularly enamoured of having exactly the same shoes as her 8 year old sister!!
Her only other option was the boys' style, and it had far too much black on it for her liking. I buried my head in my hands for a minute.. and Thankfully! she opted for the lesser of two evils - pink trim. And, after the assistant suggested it, she came home and coloured over some of the trim with a blue texta.
Had a lazy day yesterday. Guilty as anything because I spent far too much of it inside, and it was the best day we'd had since the start of the holidays/Easter. Wind had dropped to a bearable level. Finally I dragged Zoe with me to walk up onto the headland near us (and then walk up the beach with me), so that I got a big dose of 'DO YOU REALISE JUST HOW BLOODY LUCKY YOU ARE LIVING WHERE YOU DO?'
Our house is only one street back from the street along the beachfront.
And this is 'our' headland.
Meanwhile Caitlin stayed in her pjs ALL DAY, and I just didn't have the energy to hassle her. Her logic is that in term time it's full on (and she is right), so I suppose, why shouldn't she be a sloth. Even if it's excruciatingly hard to deal with as a parent because you feel she should be out in the fresh air getting just a little bit of exercise...
Today we have to hit the shops again, this time for her, because, goddammit, the girl has grown out of pretty much all her clothes. Hello puberty, belated as it is compared to her peers. Problem is this is just the start of it, really. She has finally got the height, but is just starting with the shape. So it is a bit scary wondering how long anything we buy today will fit her. The girl does need to wear clothes though, so there is nothing for it but to buy stuff.
What is even more scary is if she doesn't fit into the chainstore clothes anymore, and we have to venture in to the OTHER shops.. the ones with the REALLY REALLY LOUD music, and clothes that are designed to only go half way up their bum crack.
Wish me luck.
Labels: photos, shopping, Trivial and lovin' it
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Shopping missions, and moanings
Had a mission today. Dream up something for Zoe's birthday... which is this Friday. My baby is turning 8... which is scary in itself. What was also disturbing was that I really had no idea what to get her. Basically she doesn't really need anything in particular. As the third of 3 girls, she has plenty of books, games, toys, clothes. They all get bought stuff they need from time to time.. (it's not like she always wears or uses hand-me-downs) but birthdays (and christmas) end up being a time of trying to dream up something a bit special.
Zoe, out of the three of them, is the one most likely to wax lyrical about anything you gave her. She is the least materialistic... and is the epitomy of the child who appreciates anything. Every birthday is the BEST, BEST, BEST birthday ever, ever, ever... and her mum and dad are the best mum and dad in the WHOLE universe (fair dinkum!! ... well that's what she called back over her shoulder as she ran out the door to school this morning.)
But while you could get away with giving her anything, of course you want to give her something nice. 'Cos you love her and want to spoil her! And 'cos you want to treat them all evenly, and make her feel special and get a surprise, and feel excited.
But at the same time, I'm getting more and more jaded with the crappy toys out there. So much plastic junk! She doesn't need any more of it, and she has no space for any more of it! And the world is going crazy with materialism, and I am a part of the problem because I get sucked in to an extent every birthday and each christmas.
So I drifted around the shops for a couple of hours, and was no closer to a solution (and starting to get quite stressed)... and agreed to meet Marc for lunch on the condition that he come up with an idea.
To his credit he did. Nothing outrageous (I won't post here yet in case she happens to read my blog!)... but a sensible idea.
So I raced around, found one thing he suggested, and one thing that will do for what he suggested, and came away happy that she will love everything I got her. And so now I am looking forward to Friday morning.
In the meantime though, I have to contribute to my Shopping Gripes list... one I sort of started when I had a bit of a whinge about shopping for kids' clothes and shoes.
Here is another one:
There is a god. ;) .. or I was just on the receiving end of some good karma. It rained (which is always needed these days, so despite it being annoying, you never, never complain about rain anymore.) Marc's Touch was cancelled, so he was able to leave work, pick up the netball girls, who were finishing at 6.00 (instead of 6.30) because of the rain.. so the other two were only left for about half an hour. (And the hour it took me to drive the netball girls into town and pick up something for dinner on the way back.)
Zoe, out of the three of them, is the one most likely to wax lyrical about anything you gave her. She is the least materialistic... and is the epitomy of the child who appreciates anything. Every birthday is the BEST, BEST, BEST birthday ever, ever, ever... and her mum and dad are the best mum and dad in the WHOLE universe (fair dinkum!! ... well that's what she called back over her shoulder as she ran out the door to school this morning.)
But while you could get away with giving her anything, of course you want to give her something nice. 'Cos you love her and want to spoil her! And 'cos you want to treat them all evenly, and make her feel special and get a surprise, and feel excited.
But at the same time, I'm getting more and more jaded with the crappy toys out there. So much plastic junk! She doesn't need any more of it, and she has no space for any more of it! And the world is going crazy with materialism, and I am a part of the problem because I get sucked in to an extent every birthday and each christmas.
So I drifted around the shops for a couple of hours, and was no closer to a solution (and starting to get quite stressed)... and agreed to meet Marc for lunch on the condition that he come up with an idea.
To his credit he did. Nothing outrageous (I won't post here yet in case she happens to read my blog!)... but a sensible idea.
So I raced around, found one thing he suggested, and one thing that will do for what he suggested, and came away happy that she will love everything I got her. And so now I am looking forward to Friday morning.
In the meantime though, I have to contribute to my Shopping Gripes list... one I sort of started when I had a bit of a whinge about shopping for kids' clothes and shoes.
Here is another one:
- I HATE BEING PESTERED IN SHOPS!!! One shop lost a sale today because they annoyed the crap out of me. Hello Howards Storage World. Do you train your people to be annoying? Or was I just unlucky today? I like to browse. But every damned assistant in the place kept hassling me, asking me if I needed help, or just deciding to give me a sales spiel if I looked at something. I actually had something in my hand that I intended to purchase.. I told an assistant (when approached) that I was going to get that, but I still wanted to look around. "Would you like me to put it on the counter for you then?". Whatever.. ok... do you think I'm going to walk out with it? I thought to myself. THEN I picked up a particular lunch box to look at, and got an unsolicited spiel about how great it was by yet another assistant. "They have great stuff in here" she said. Yep, right.... but they also have very annoying assistants. Sometimes you just want to look at something, and ponder whether it will suit what you want... and whether you really really need it. I walked out.. leaving the other bloody thing on the counter, and wished I could have been a fly on the wall when they realised that the customer who was going to buy that thing had gone AWOL. Stupid people.. if I'd still had it in my hands, I would have gone through with the sale.
There is a god. ;) .. or I was just on the receiving end of some good karma. It rained (which is always needed these days, so despite it being annoying, you never, never complain about rain anymore.) Marc's Touch was cancelled, so he was able to leave work, pick up the netball girls, who were finishing at 6.00 (instead of 6.30) because of the rain.. so the other two were only left for about half an hour. (And the hour it took me to drive the netball girls into town and pick up something for dinner on the way back.)
Labels: shopping
