31 posts tagged “stress”

Yesterday morning, I went to Wal-Mart for a little shopping.  I left and did my thing coming home after lunch.  I brought my 2 sacks in and sent them on the table to put away later.  When I finally got around to unpacking them, I thought there wasn't all that much but didn't ponder it more.  Then in the evening when it was time for the kids to brush their teeth, I realized I was missing their new toothbrushes, toothpaste, underwear for Lily, flossers, and a package of sliced apples.  Basically, I was missing 1/2 my purchases!  I called the store and spent 20 minutes on hold waiting to talk with different people while they searched.  In the end, they couldn't find anything.  I was so ticked off and dug the receipt out of the garbage can so I could check exactly what I was missing. 

This morning, I headed back, receipt in hand, ready to do battle.  Ray was sure I was out $30 but the clerk had set the sacks on top of the rack for me so I thought the store should be responsible.  If Wal-Mart didn't still have the merchandise then whomever came through that line next must've ended up with an extra bag.  I walked through the doors and instantly saw the woman who had checked me out.  I was going to walk by and head straight to customer service when she said, "Heather, I set your bag back at Customer Service for you".  Hallelujah!  I'm not sure why they couldn't find it last night when it was right there but I am just so thankful to have my stuff without a confrontation (I'm not good at those).  It totally made my day.

While I'm on the subject of Wally World, I don't think I've ever shared the story of my classmate, whose the daughter of my parents' good friends, and how she married Rob Walton.  Rob Walton is the eldest son of the Sam Walton and chairman of Wal-Mart.  In 2007, he was #24 on Forbes list of billionaires.  Yes, he's old enough to be her father and it's so bizarre that a little farm girl from rural Montana ended up with someone like him.  She was a standout basketball player and moved to Phoenix after graduating from college to be a sports trainer for some high profile teams.  That's where they met.

My parents attended their wedding reception in Sidney.  The wedding was in the Carribbean.  Two summers ago, they showed up at our lake cabin so we got to meet him.  They were actually there visiting one of her college roommates who also has a cabin in our area.  They fly into Sidney in their private jet.  The couple recently made a large donation to her alma matter.  Article & Photo

I pride myself on a mostly upbeat blog and always having my "Things I Like" equal or exceed my "Things I Loathe".  However, this is going to be one giant pity post so consider yourself warned.

We are back from the lake.  Without Blue.  I cried my eyes out this morning and didn't know how I was going to leave him running alongside our car.  Thankfully, some golden retrievers were with him so that made the departure easier.  The kids also didn't get upset which surprised me but helped. 

I tried convincing Ray to bring Blue home.  My allergies didn't bother me one bit yesterday but I don't know if it was just regular allergies the day before or if the Claritin was working yesterday.  Ray's allergies were really bad, too, and he's not allergic to dogs.  We found out that Blue has been at the lake for at least 2 weeks so if he did have owners, they sure don't seem to be looking for him.  We also got ahold of the landlord's wife and she doesn't know if Blue belongs to anyone.  My biggest concern is someone taking him to the pound or shooting him just because they think he's a nuisance. 

If he's still there when we go back in 10 days, I am not leaving him again.  That will be our last trip to the lake this year and I just couldn't bear it.  If my allergies won't enable us to keep him, we'll put him in Prairie Paws Rescue which is a foster pet program here.  (Stop reading here, Mom).  I think the best thing for Blue would be for my parents to take him.  I know they have their hands full with my brother's dog right now but Blue is so well-behaved and my brother will be moving back this winter.  My dad goes out to the ranch almost everyday and Blue would love the wide open spaces.  Since he's a Blue Heeler, he might even be helpful with the cattle.  Even though we have a large, fenced yard, I'm not sure Blue would like the confinement.  Heelers also require a lot of exercise and stimulation. 

On the way home, this song came on the radio and I burst into tears.........again.  Of course it happened to be right at the part of the song where it says "Blue, oh so lonesome for you.  Tears fill my eyes 'til I can't see". 

Fast forward to arriving home and going through the mail.  We got the information from Jace's teachers and found out that 1/2 the day he will have our least favorite teacher in the whole school.  Had we known they were moving her up to 3rd grade, we definitely would've put in a request.  I immediately called the school but we have a brand new principal and he won't make any changes until we've given her a try.  Cody had her in 4th grade and his math grade went from A's to C's & D's.  She's not mean.  She simply doesn't teach or communicate with parents.  Cody actually loved her because "they never had to do anything".  Just what a parent wants in a teacher.  I used to email her and she'd never respond.  Instead, I'd see her at school a week later and she would say "oh, I got your email and was going to call you".  Ray & I also met with her a few times, talked about plans of action, typed them up and sent them to her so we were all on the same page, and still nothing happened.  This was at the end of the year or we would've gone to the principal then.  Thankfully, I still have all those emails in case I need to use them. 

She seriously needs to just RETIRE!  She's the librarian and then they move her around wherever they need another teacher.  Jace has her for the important classes, too.

When I got off the phone with the school, the waterworks started again.  This is seriously not something I would normally cry about but I'm just not myself today.  I cried throughout my shower.  I don't know why I'm bothering with eye makeup today because I just keep crying it off. 

Ray went to the clinic since it looked like his bite was getting infected.  He got a tetanus shot and a shot of antibiotics. 

PMS doesn't normally cause me too many problems, but I'm blaming it this week. 

Mom & Dad had a surprise waiting for us when we arrived at the lake last night.  They added a corner onto the deck making it impossible for our jerk of a neighbor to drive through our lot anymore.  As soon as the neighbor saw it, he went to the resort landlord complaining.  Of course, the landlord just told him that his giant garage is partly on our property to begin with and there's no road here!  Its where we've had our fire pit for the past 6 years as well as where we park.  The landlord did come and talk to my dad but mainly just to let him know that the neighbor spoke to him.  My dad informed him that every time we come to the lake, our fire pit is thrown down the coulee because it's in the neighbor's way for driving through our lot (though he doesn't even have the courage to show his face when we're here).  The landlord was really angry that the neighbor touched our personal property on our own lot.  If the neighbor has half a brain (highly doubtful), he'll let this go because if we're forced to take down the deck corner, he'll also be forced to take down his big, fancy garage.  Both the deck & his garage are off our lots into no-man's land.

Things I'm Not Liking:

1. Hearing Lily scream & cry about how hungry she is for 20 minutes on the return trip from her dental appointment.  Seriously, that girl doesn't know what true hunger feels like!
2. That all the school clothes I bought 10 days ago at TCP are now on sale.
3. Saying goodbye to our awesome principal whose leaving town.
4. Gndsgang not being able to get her 2 youngest back in our school because the 3rd grade class is full.

Things That are Good:

1. Lily's dental appointment going beautifully.  The laughing gas must've been just what she needed because she never complained one bit.  She just laid there watching High School Musical the whole hour.  She did complain a lot afterwards about the cheek numbness so it probably will be difficult to get her back.  Guess we'll have to resort to bribery!  Cost of general anesthesia & hospital visit for dental work - $4000-$6000.  Cost of laughing gas for 4 visits - $120.
2. Ladies golf day!
3. Potty training continuing to progress with just 1 accident in 2 weeks.
4. OG Shrimp Primavera.  When discussing our plans for today, Lily wanted to know if anyone would be joining us for lunch.  I said no and she said "just the two of us" with a big smile.  Then, she informed me that she wanted to go to the same place we went last time where they had the best macaroni & cheese......Olive Garden.  That girl has taste.

I just returned from dropping Cody off at his 2nd year of Christian wrestling camp.  Its on a lake about 40 miles from here.

Its only 3 nights, thank goodness, because I really don't think I could handle more.  I broke down and got him an extra cell phone for the family.  I went with a $10 track phone.  I'm surprised at how nice it is for being cheap but then its not a huge deal if he loses it.  I just hate for him not to be able to call. Cody's on the big yellow tube.  When somebody above jumps on it, you catapult off.

Its a good thing the guys and Lily decided to go fishing yesterday because they brought in 13 walleye after just 1/2 day.  The storm from the night before must've stirred up the fish.

Jace had another horrible night alone in his room.  I forgot how short bursts of sleep give you really weird dreams.  One time, I was even dreaming that Jace kept coming in our room so I don't know if that even qualifies as sleep!  He was basically up from 1-4 am.  I just don't know what to do!  We could move Lily in but eventually he won't want her there anymore and then she'll be the one who struggles.  The joys of parenting.

The fishing has slowed down considerably but there was still enough fish for supper yesterday.  Today, only the guys went out in the morning and then they picked up Lily and I.  The weather was gorgeous and I caught a few fish.  I was watching a storm move in and the men were not being cooperative about getting off the water.  I was starting to get pretty worried.  I finally demanded it and everyone else had the same idea as there was a line of about 15 boats waiting to get out of the water at the ramp.  Since we hadn't gone at the same time as the guys, I had my car so I headed up to the cabin.  Lily insisted on staying in grandpa's truck.  Shortly after I got to the cabin, the rain started.  A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect and then came the tornado warning.  I called the guys on the radio to see if they were out of the water and let them know not to mess around!!  They got here shortly afterwards. 

A trailer is not the place to be during a tornado.  The only interior closet is in the kids' room so I quickly cleaned it out and put the kids in there with pillows and blankets.  I was impressed with how well they were managing even though they were very scared.  Ray said if a tornado arrived, we needed to head down the coulee by the cabin.

The radio was recommending a ditch over a trailer but it sure would be hard to convince yourself to go outside in a tornado.  Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about it and the storm has passed.

Things That Were Bad:

• Lily's appointment with the pediatric dentist out of town.  The situation is much worse than we thought and will require her to be sedated at the hospital to have all her dental work done.  Not to mention it's going to cost a fortune.  It's a miracle I didn't burst into tears right there in the dentist's office.
• My golf game.  Third time in a row that I've royally stunk.
• My sore back that I injured moving Ray's dirt bike last night so I could get my car into the garage from the storm.  The storm died before making it here but we had more tonight so I guess it was still worth it.
• The painful pimple by my lip.
• Not getting to talk to Ray because his cell phone never works when he's out of the country.

Things That Were Good:

• The lovely mother / daughter lunch that Lily and I had at Olive Garden prior to the nightmare dentist appt.
• That after Gndsgang and I finished the 9th hole, she figured out that I unconsciously changed my grip 3 games ago and that is probably what's been screwing me up.  I'm dying to go again now and see if that fixes my problem.
• My brother calling last night.
• Getting an email from Ray.
• Good friends who you can talk to when you're down in the dumps.

Whew.  It was difficult but at least I managed to match my number of good & bad things.  I hate to have the bad outnumber the good as I prefer to be an optimist and don't want my blog to be depressing!

Ray left for Mexico City this morning.  Since we've been busy with soccer tournaments, I'm allowing all 3 kids to have a friend sleep over tonight.  I've obviously lost my mind.  I'll probably be drinking by the end of the night, and I don't drink!  Pray for me.

Things I'm Not Liking:

1. It's very cold & rainy so Gndsgang and I didn't get to go golfing.
2. Crabby children.

Things I'm Liking:

1. We really need the rain.
2. Tonight is my last PTO meeting.  I've been treasurer for the past 3 years.  We're meeting over dinner at Perkins so I don't have to cook either.
3. Listening to Cody practice his tenor sax. 
4. My new bed.  I haven't given an update in quite awhile but my shoulder problems have disappeared ever since we got the new bed.  Maybe it wasn't the computer that was my problem but the bed!
5. Ray started painting Cody's room last night!  With any luck, we'll be moving him into his new room within the week.

Yesterday, Ray had a dental appt. in Fargo to have a tooth pulled.  We made arrangements for the kids and decided to take Gus.

 

I was pretty nervous about this arrangement as I haven't driven Gus since we first got him and that was around the parking lot.  Remember, he's a 5-speed and I've never been able to figure them out.  I drove him to the Interstate so I'd have a little practice while Ray was lucid enough to give assistance.  It didn't go too bad but I was still really anxious about having to do it in Fargo.  That's kind of like trial by fire.  Add to it that the pedals don't adjust forward so I had the seat so close to the steering wheel that I was practically hugging it.  I just knew if the air bag went off, it was going to decapitate me!  After all, I'm only 3 inches past the recommendation to be in a booster seat.

Ray's appt. was at 2:30.  It was expected to last 1.5 - 2 hours so the plan was for me to run to the mall and exchange some clothes.  That's right.  I was going to drive Gus alone in Fargo and the mall is nowhere close to the dentist's office.  I wanted to wait for them to call Ray back first and they did at 2:25.  I really debated forgetting the whole mall thing until afterward but I needed to be back home for AWE practice and knew we'd already be cutting it close.  So, I put on my brave face and kept telling myself "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can".

Ray had parked so I wouldn't need to reverse.  I did get out of the parking spot without killing it.  I decided to turn right and drive around the block to avoid pulling out in front of traffic to turn left.  Not sure why it didn't dawn on me that I'd still need to go left when I came back around, but at least it was at a light.  So far, so good.  Then, I came to a red light.  I've never hated red lights so much in my life.  The light turned green.  I tried to go.  Killed the car.  Tried again.  Killed it again.  Tried to start in 2nd gear as Ray had said that might be easier.  Killed it again.  The light turned back to red.  Meanwhile, there are pedestrians on the sidewalk and a car behind me that I'm sure was getting very annoyed.  I just kept reminding myself that I'd never see these people again.  When the light turned red again, I said a little prayer and managed to get through the light without killing the car and minimal jerking.  I don't have any trouble shifting between the rest of the gears but first just kills me.  It was a straight shot to the interstate and I did a fairly good job of avoiding red lights by watching ahead and slowing down or speeding up to anticipate them.  Made it to the interstate, back off, and to another red light.  Killed it once.  Then, I arrived at the mall really wishing that I did not have to make the return trip.

On the way back, I killed it getting out of the parking lot and again at the first red light.  Of course, there were people behind me at all the lights.  I made it to the interstate, killed it at the red light on the off ramp, and off I went trying to avoid red lights again.  I didn't make one and was sitting there with this giant truck behind me really close.  I could just tell that he was going to have no patience for me.  I prayed that I'd get going on the first try and I did but he was still behind me.  I have no idea why I was getting so worked up about complete strangers but I was fairly sure I was going to have an anxiety attack.  Thankfully, I made it back to the dentist's office without anymore trouble by 3:30.

Ray wasn't out of surgery yet so I settled into a comfortable chair to watch "Ellen" and enjoy the complimentary pop and cookies.  Four o'clock rolled around and still no Ray.  I was starting to worry that there was a problem with the anesthesia or something.  Meanwhile, the waiting room is an absolute ice box, my nerves are fried over the thought of having to drive Gus through town again, and I'm starting to stress out that my husband is going to die in the dentist's chair!  Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.  At 4:30, I asked the receptionist if she knew how much longer he would be, assuming recovery was just taking awhile.  (I obviously wasn't going to make my 5:30 rehearsal at this point).  She returned and said he was still in surgery!  Now, I was really starting to panic.  It was taking much longer than it was supposed to.  Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.  At 5:00, a nurse came in to tell me the surgery was done and they'd take me back to see him in a moment.  I was so relieved.  I got back to the recovery room at 5:15.  Ray was awake but groggy and talking funny because of the gauze in his mouth.  He introduced me to the dentist and assistant as his trophy wife!  Awkward!  Then, he told me that he was going to have them let me know before he fell asleep that they didn't start the surgery until 3:45!  He actually fell asleep waiting for it!

Back we went out to the parking lot to see Gus again.  I was not excited.  Two rides in a day were enough for me.  I killed it right off the bat getting out of the parking spot when Ray offered to get us to the interstate.  He seemed lucid enough for me so I agreed!  We stopped for gas and discovered I had another problem that I'm not going to bring up here but I was so ready to be home.  Ray safely got us out of town and then I drove the rest of the way home without any problem.  We got back at 8:00.  Ray told me not to give up now because I've almost got it.  Stick shifts just have so much to think about!  I was thrilled to get back in my Yukon, put it in drive, and go off without giving it another thought.