See if you can follow this train of logic:
I hurt my foot --> foot in soft cast for a week
Soft cast --> go to Disneyland (wheelchair = front of line)
Announce Disneyland --> kids happy bouncy --> bags packed by Sunday afternoon
Sunday night I view Consuming Kids with friends --> I no longer want to take my kids to Disneyland
I remember my own experience with Disneyland, "Why do people put on big costumes in this heat?" --> I look for an alternative
Since I haven't won any bid on Priceline in ages, I take a Hail Mary bid on a very expensive, very nice hotel in Monterey Bay --> the bid goes through --> I say, "Eep!"
I pack up the kids and head off to Monterey for the week, thoroughly enjoying the trip and all the side-trips. I had no idea Monterey had so much to offer.
We came back tanned, relaxed, and most of all, with a stronger sibling bond.
We also came back only three minutes before Vee and Eee needed the car. (We are a one car family.) Cutting it close, for sure.
My favorite comment from Aee as she swam in the big circular pool at the hotel, face up to the sky, "I'm so glad I'm feeling the sun instead of in a shop collecting things. I love you Mom."
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Light-footed
It may look like I am constantly changing plans... and some people consider that a bad thing.
Someone recently said, "Oh, you're just light-footed."
I like that view so very much. Thank you.
Someone recently said, "Oh, you're just light-footed."
I like that view so very much. Thank you.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Foiled again!
Confirmed -- the NZ rental agency won't take my temporary USA license. It isn't valid enough.
So, what to do while waiting around for 10 days for the little piece of plastic to arrive?
Hum...
Top items off the top of my head:
* Explore half-moon bay for a week -- too expensive, hotels are 250-500/night there. Even if we drive every day there & back, the gas is considerable, more than an RV in NZ would cost in our little jaunts...
* Do a tour of bay area museums again, could be fun.
* Grab some $60 tix to LA, stay with friends and go to Disneyland for a week. Possible, but Jee & Aee hate crowds and heat even more than I do.
* Enroll them in camps. Too expensive!
* Hire The Most Awesome Babysitters (who are not related to us) to watch the wee ones for 1/2 days, just enough so that the day balances out. Jee and Aee get four hours of non-stop board game time while I work, then they play at the shop while I work. Then we all breath a deep sigh and play together a bit.
Sounds good, but this is what we have been doing for the last two weeks. Plus, The Most Awesome Babysitter team is out of town.
Harumpf.
Those $300-something tickets to Spain are looking better every day.
So, what to do while waiting around for 10 days for the little piece of plastic to arrive?
Hum...
Top items off the top of my head:
* Explore half-moon bay for a week -- too expensive, hotels are 250-500/night there. Even if we drive every day there & back, the gas is considerable, more than an RV in NZ would cost in our little jaunts...
* Do a tour of bay area museums again, could be fun.
* Grab some $60 tix to LA, stay with friends and go to Disneyland for a week. Possible, but Jee & Aee hate crowds and heat even more than I do.
* Enroll them in camps. Too expensive!
* Hire The Most Awesome Babysitters (who are not related to us) to watch the wee ones for 1/2 days, just enough so that the day balances out. Jee and Aee get four hours of non-stop board game time while I work, then they play at the shop while I work. Then we all breath a deep sigh and play together a bit.
Sounds good, but this is what we have been doing for the last two weeks. Plus, The Most Awesome Babysitter team is out of town.
Harumpf.
Those $300-something tickets to Spain are looking better every day.
Excuses, Excuses
I'm feeling a bit like Sisyphus, pushing a rock, pushing a rock, but never getting anywhere. I am trying to leave. The kids are beyond psyched. Everyone is ready, but...
Every day some new monster rears its head.
Last Monday it was a slipped something in my back. Fixed.
On Tuesday it was a work thing that needed an immediate solution or I couldn't leave town. Mostly fixed.
On Wednesday it was my foot. It feels like it's broken. I can barely walk. Horrid shooting pains.
Today it was the expired driver's license. New one will get here in 10 days.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Because the next step would be a brain tumor or a car accident. Eep.
Every day some new monster rears its head.
Last Monday it was a slipped something in my back. Fixed.
On Tuesday it was a work thing that needed an immediate solution or I couldn't leave town. Mostly fixed.
On Wednesday it was my foot. It feels like it's broken. I can barely walk. Horrid shooting pains.
Today it was the expired driver's license. New one will get here in 10 days.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Because the next step would be a brain tumor or a car accident. Eep.
HUGE amount of luck
Imagine this: You book tickets for yourself and your children to fly half way around the world. You are beyond-ready to rent that sweet little RV so you and your little ones can travel up and down the coast.
You get to the checkout counter to fill out all the RV forms and the clerk says in that fantastic New Zealand accent: "Matie, you can't rent. Your driver's license is expired."
You know what happens when you are in a foreign country and need US approval for visa, dls, this sort of thing? You have to *go home* to get it done.
Did I just narrowly escape a huge mistake?
On my way to the DMV now...
You get to the checkout counter to fill out all the RV forms and the clerk says in that fantastic New Zealand accent: "Matie, you can't rent. Your driver's license is expired."
You know what happens when you are in a foreign country and need US approval for visa, dls, this sort of thing? You have to *go home* to get it done.
Did I just narrowly escape a huge mistake?
On my way to the DMV now...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
My favorite moment of the day
Seeing my teenage son take control of his life, ground his career, and work with a new colleague.
This is nothing so fulfilling as knowing that your kids are going to be OK.
This is nothing so fulfilling as knowing that your kids are going to be OK.
Time and a Half?
When you work overtime on holidays, weekends, during the birth of your son, days when everyone else is on vacation... aren't you supposed to get time and a half?
My beloved just worked two weeks straight of 18 to 20 hour days, non-stop, around the clock, quick naps and short nights. He worked through one weekend, then worked again through the next -- the 4th of July.
What does he get for around-the-clock devotion?
Time and a half?
Nah. How about the new company rule that went into effect while he was gone: "One comp day for every two weekend days / holiday days worked."
What's that? Half time?
Invest 2, get 1 in return...
Yikes, how motivating!
My beloved just worked two weeks straight of 18 to 20 hour days, non-stop, around the clock, quick naps and short nights. He worked through one weekend, then worked again through the next -- the 4th of July.
What does he get for around-the-clock devotion?
Time and a half?
Nah. How about the new company rule that went into effect while he was gone: "One comp day for every two weekend days / holiday days worked."
What's that? Half time?
Invest 2, get 1 in return...
Yikes, how motivating!
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