Hot. My Inner Monologue.

It is really hot here in Minnesota. Everyone knows this. Everyone is writing about it. So I won't write about the weather - instead I will write about my paranoid reaction to it.

One: My car isn't meant to operate in this kind of heat. Really, where do they test cars anyway, to make sure that they can operate when it's 100 degrees outside? I hope they test them in like the Arizona desert. Except that would mean that they haven't factored in the humidity. Which is very high. Is it better to drive with your windows open or closed in this heat? What impact does the air conditioning have on everything? Will the pavement buckle on the way home? Am I contributing more to global warming when I drive with the air conditioning on?

(Are you annoyed yet?)

Two: We are running all the air conditioners at home nearly nonstop. Will the air conditioners last? Will they burn out? Perhaps if they burn out, they will start a small fire? What would happen then?

Three: Is it unhealthy for my children to be outside a lot when it is this hot? (The answer is YES. I heard it on MPR. MPR is always right. (This last is not a joke - I really do think so.)) But it's a huge bummer that they're not getting outdoor time when we only have like 15 minutes of summer in Minnesota. Are they sufficiently hydrated? Do they have enough SPF on them? (The answer to this is yes, of course, our nanny definitely lathers them up with enough SPF. It doesn't mean I can't think about it obsessively though.)

Four: We should go swimming since it's so hot.

Oh wait, no we shouldn't. The municipal pool is a breeding ground for THIEVES. (If you don't believe me, read yesterday's post.)

Five: What should we have for DINNER? Even turning on the microwave oven makes me feel really hot. Heating up the kitchen makes it that much harder for the air conditioners (see, e.g., #2 above) to do their job. Maybe we should just go out to eat. Oh wait, we can't - our credit and debit cards were stolen (see, e.g., #4 above).

Is it any wonder that I'm exhausted with such an inner monologue?

Back?

I've been avoiding posting. Well, duh. Any idiot could have figured that out without me saying so.

We had a trying weekend. Our car and my wallet were stolen. Stolen! From the Highland pool in St. Paul. Unbelievable. We had to do the whole thing where I shut down our credit and debit cards, and we had to close our checking account. We've had that joint checking account for about 15 years, and I am not exaggerating when I say that we pay every. single. bill. from that darn thing. I have been spending a fair amount of my evening time figuring out what bills I pay from that account and setting them up on our new account. No, I will not give the account number to you. Believe me, I hope to never do any of this again.

If you want to feel good and violated, be a fool and leave your wallet and keys unattended at the municipal pool on one of the hottest weekend days of the year. Spend three hours in the pool with your kids. At the end of the afternoon, saunter back over to your stuff and get ready to go. Have an unsettled feeling that you should check your bag for your wallet. Have your husband say, "Um, where are the keys?" and then run out the gate to see if the car is still there. Which it isn't. Then have your 5-year-old sob because the bad guys stole your car. THEN spend 20 minutes on your cell phone cancelling credit cards. Sheesh.

People, never leave your stuff unattended. Just because you wouldn't steal someone's wallet and car keys - and their CAR - doesn't mean that someone at the pool wouldn't do that. Can you imagine taking someone's keys and walking around pressing the "unlock" button, going - I wonder which car we're going to drive home from the pool tonight?

Day 2 of In Between

I am feeling a little crazy, with not having to go to work until the 31st. Who knew that relaxation could be so stressful?

Things accomplished so far:
1. Yardwork
2. Summer clothes shopping (for children, not me)
3. Rose #1's hand appointment. Very happy with appointment - she is doing really well, and won't need surgery for the foreseeable future, if ever
4. Rose #1's well child checkup. 25th percentile for height! She really is my little Bean
5. Capital campaign scheduling calls

Today I pick up Rose #3 early from school for a Mommy and Me outing. We're going to go swimming at Jimmy Lee.

Best regards to all of you,
Your Lady of Leisure

Day 1 of In Between

I have a new job! And my old job was over yesterday. I am going to be spending the next 13 days "in between" (which is what my girls call it). Now that I have time to do things like bring the girls to the dentist, and do yard work, I also have time to blog.

More later!

Animal Research. Phew.

The third graders in Rose #1's school have to select an animal to research, make a 3D model of, write a book about, and generally live and breathe for 3 months.

Animal Research ("AR") is done! Rose #1 selected the gray wolf. She made her own habitat and model (really truly did it almost all herself unlike - AHEM - some of the other kids). She wrote a beautiful book about wolves, which she dedicated to her teacher.



All very, very sweet and cute. I am sorta glad AR is over. Another milestone down. Great job Rose #1!

p.s.: Anyone have any ideas what I should do with a 3D model of a wolf? With evergreen branches and cotton balls?

Rose #2 was a scarecrow

Front row, second from the left: It doesn't matter that her scarecrow was an AUTUMN scarecrow. You try finding hay that you can send to school with a 6-year-old. At least the leaves were sewn together on a string. Otherwise they would have been totally unmanageable!

By the way, the lovely teacher in the middle is Mrs. Swenson, who was Rose #1's first grade teacher and is now Rose #2's. She is a great teacher with very helpful perspective and advice. She is also a total fashion plate and gorgeous to boot! We really like her.

Still here...

Tonight I took the girls to the park after dinner. Rose #1 did the monkey bars all the way across for the very first time! This might sound wrong - like it should be Rose #3 or something - but it's not. Rose #1's little hand makes it hard for her to do the monkey bars, but she hooks her wrist over and she finally was able to go all the way across. Way to go!

Rose #2 and I read a Berenstain Bears book (shuddering sigh) and Harry Potter before bed. Reading Harry Potter out loud is really fun. The chapters are too long - J.K. Rowling should have had us parents in mind when she was setting chapter length - but otherwise it is a great read. Rose #1, my daughter who reads at a 10th grade level in 3rd grade, listens to the story too. I love reading to them. I know my days of reading to them are numbered. Going to love it while I can.

Rose #3 put on her kitty cat boots, her fleece, her grubby size 7 too-big pants, put her hair back behind her ears so I could fasten her helmet, and proceeded to ride a tricycle to the park. The tricycle is about six sizes too small, so she kept flailing out of control with her knees hitting her chin. Time to get her a real bike - with training wheels. Poor grubby little urchin.