Get Off Your Butts

Volleyball started up again the last week of March. I play fours in the sand courts outside of work. We really have a fun time together. We are competitive and laid back most of the time but sometimes we play against teams that are really arrogant and that annoys us—then we get kind of feisty. I mean, it’s not like we are playing the Championship of the Universe. You can play competitively and still be nice. I had a happy hour to go to on Friday night but I decided I would rather spend the time with Brian and the kids so we went to ZTejas. I don’t know if it’s work stress or what but I definitely want to drink more often. I wanted to try something new so I ordered a mojito. This is almost like a Tom Collins or Mint Julep—it was yummy and refreshing and I would like for Brian to add this to his repertoire of drinks. He bought some rum and mint plants last night.

The next day we went to a birthday party in one of those places where they have giant inflatables inside a big room. I had to go on everything because Jack was a little timid at first but after a few trips down the big slide, he got confident and so I could rest—I was getting tired and sweaty! Brian, on the other hand, had to take Ty up and down all the stairs and slides and so he was getting a really good workout.

We’ve gotten into the pattern of getting out and doing something with the boys every weekend morning. We went to the Tempe Art Festival with the boys. After all these years I still don’t get tired of going to this… although I do move through the booths very quickly. I saw a booth for the marble rings that Tracy, Annette, Shannon and I all own. Apparently they make necklaces and earrings too. Brian bought a hummingbird feeder but that’s about it.

Most of the time I avoid talking about work in this blog. First of all it’s boring for other people to read but also this is a public blog so I should be careful about what I say. But I don’t think what I agonize about is unique to me and my company by any means. I tend to be passionate and driven at work and made a fairly quick ascension since working here. I’ve plateaued in the past 3 ½ years that I have been having babies. I’m actually OK with this for now because my priority is my kids and with my current job, I really do not have to work much overtime and don’t have to travel much. The problem is that there is a part of me that yearns to take on more responsibility… I mean, if I think I am well qualified, it’s a little hard to watch someone less qualified take on positions and even potentially become my boss. Especially if I think they are incompetent. So I am in a bit of a conundrum. And this is another reason that drinking more seems like a good idea. Ha ha. Brian traveled for a couple days this week. That always increases my stress. On Wednesday I wanted to go to a parenting seminar at the YMCA so I had to get a babysitter since Brian was gone. The seminar was good—it was given by Jack’s preschool director who had a lot of good ideas. She had 6 kids herself and has been in elementary education for 30 years. Jack started swimming lessons this same week so I had get Ty and take him to Jack’s swimming lesson. It wasn’t so bad. Jack LOVES swimming lessons this time around. He has a huge smile on his face the whole time. That makes me happy.

We had another birthday party the next Saturday in one of those place with the big inflatables so I came well prepared in workout clothes. Unfortunately I got chafed going down the big slide (like a bad rug burn). Of course, none of the kids got hurt. After the birthday party I took a couple meals to Kathleen’s house for delivery to the two preggo’s in “Egypt”. OK, east Mesa but it seems like a long way away. I ran into Jeanette there and we ended staying about an hour. We also got to see Marion briefly as she dropped off a meal. Then we helped Kathleen load up her car with all the meals. The idea is that the meals can be frozen and used after the babies comes.

The next day was Easter which is an interesting day for me. I was a Christian growing up and still consider myself a Christian even though I don’t go to church. However, growing up our church did not observe Easter because it originated as a pagan holiday. I cannot seem to get past that, just like I cannot eat pork. It’s emotional baggage. I will probably never recognize Easter as a religious holiday for that reason. So the truth is that we have no Easter traditions. I’m OK with the secular/traditional element of the Easter egg hunt. That seems like a fun kid thing. So that’s why we went to Encanto Park for their big Easter egg hunt. Us and about 1,000,000 Hispanic people. The instructions for the hunt were in Spanish and the Spanish speaking radio station was broadcasting. It really was quite the mob scene. Cross that off our list of possible traditions. We decided to stick with opening presents from Gramma in front of the web cam (which we did Easter morning) and then will do an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. And that will be it for us.

Friday after work I went to a co-worker’s going away party at Teakwood’s. Teakwood’s really does have the best burgers and steak fries. And I’m not a burger and fries kind of gal. I left around 6:30 and met up Brian and boys at Wildflower. We went to the play area in front of Barnes and Nobles where the kids were wild and crazy. After that, Brian took Ty home and I went to the Discovery Store where Jack and I looked at our favorite toy there: a clear ball filled with fake worms. It’s really gross but for some reason I love it. One day I will actually buy it. I bought a jade necklace there since I love green jewelry and it was all 50% off.

The next day we went to IKEA for breakfast and walked around through the store. We bought a second “high” chair since Jack and Ty fight over Jack’s chair. It’s really like a bar stool but for the table, so no more high chairs or booster seats in our house. Saturday night Brian went to the George Thorogood concert. I went to my first George Thorogood concert when I was 18 years old. That was 20 years ago. He is the best performer I have ever seen. (For those of you who are scratching your heads wondering what he sings… “Bad to the Bone” and “I Drink Alone” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer”.) Every single concert I’ve been to see him has been a small venue, with no seats and lots of beer. Everyone stands and dances and hangs out. So I was looking forward to this concert because it’s been about 9 years since I had seen him. It was a disappointment! Don’t get me wrong… George was great, as usual. But the problem was that everyone sat in their seats like we were at the symphony! Brian and I stood up for a couple songs but everyone around us was just sitting. I was completely baffled. We ended up moving to an area where we could stand up for the rest of the concert. If anyone has any ideas why people would be sitting through someone like George Thorogood, please let me know. It’s not like he has any ballads. Brian said, “Well the crowd is older.” Does that mean that you no longer have the use of your legs? Has your rhythm been sucked out of you? Are we that out of shape in America that we cannot stand for an hour and a half concert? I mean, George has to be in his 60’s now and he wasn’t sitting on stool—he was all over the place. I have to believe that he likes to have people standing, clapping, singing, moving… ARRGGHH.

I watched the “Sound of Music” over the course of the week. Our nanny had recorded it and so I watched it little by little through the week. I’ve seen that move about 100 times and it was still good. Although as an adult, the romance part of it was more interesting than when I was a kid and the resistance to the Nazi’s was also more interesting. But I wonder if this movie is like “Star Wars” where if you saw it as a kid, you love it as an adult but if you saw it for the first time today, you would think it was really bad.

Sunday we did a lot of chores. Gert and Jill came over with Connor and Luke for dinner. We ate fajitas and it was such a nice evening that we ate outside. The boys played well together. After they left and the boys went to bed, I sewed a button on a pair of pants and repaired a hole in Jack’s sock. I think the official term is that I “darned his sock”. That made me feel very domestic.