Balancing Act

Okay so it has officially started. The Boy Thing, but not what I had imagined.  So here’s the deal….Morgan has a friend who is a boy – she has known him for about 3 years.  I think she liked him alot when she first met him – had a crush on him.  Well he kind-of blew her off so she “gave up” – they have talked off on occasionally but nothing more than that.  Now he has started calling again – every other day or so for the past week and Morgan doesn’t appear to be interested anymore so she just tells him she has to go about 2 minutes after he calls.  I for the most part have been uninvolved.  Until last night. His MOTHER called us around 1 minute after Morgan and her son had gotten off the phone.   Darin answered – i was nursing Liam so I couldn’t talk.  Well the conversation that I could hear on our end was very weird, but the jist was that she wants us to ask Morgan if she is interested in having this boy call her anymore, and if not we are to call the mom back and tell her so her she can tell her son, so he doesn’t get his feelings hurt.  Actually she wanted Darin to ask Morgan right then and tell her right then but Darin wouldn’t do it and told her he would talk to Morgan and we would get back to her.  Darin told her that we felt Morgan could handle this herself but she wasn’t going for it – she was persistent in telling Darin that she didn’t want feelings hurt, they are at a tender age, blah blah blah…..SO now what? Am I supposed to discuss this with Morgan (we kind-of did but we didn’t tell her about the mom calling), do I call this mom back? if i don’t she will most likely call me….as Darin said – it feels so 7th grade – “does your friend like my friend -write back yes or no?”   I am at a loss – probably the first in a long line of losses for the next several years! My gut says stay out of it and don’t even call the mom back but?  also i should mention the boy has some physical disabilities and has to be taken care of by his mom (or someone else) and she is probably very protective of him (as she should be)

got to go to seattle (actually edmonds) last night to watch an amazing play called Birth – check out www.birthonlaborday.com – very amazing – i got to see it with two great friends and we even got to go out to eat and have wine – a real adult evening

way cool – i haven’t done that in years -it was really fun and i need to spend time with women more often

Liam did fine at grandma’s and even slept in a bit so i didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn – thanks to grandma and darin for allowing me the opportunity to have a great night out

Okay it’s two days in a row! I am proud of myself. 

The canada cousins left…my kids are bummed. They really enjoyed hanging out with them and they all seem so much more mature this year.  Very nice kids. I know it’s hard for them to leave too – Kira seemed a bit down when we all said goodbye but the plan is for them to come back next summer so it softens the blow a bit. 

Middle school soccer practice yesterday – it’s EVERYDAY for 1.5 hours for the next 6 weeks!  Probably not as big a deal if your kid actually goes to the school and then you just have to pick up….but for me it’s pick up and drop off.  Add that in with 2 others in rec soccer and there will be a lot of driving for this soccer mom.  Also the girls there are so….middle school.   Morgan knows a bunch of them from playing last year but they are so clique -y and barely acknowledged her from what I could tell.  She seems unfazed but it bugged me.

Also preschool orientation for Ella.  It’s a new preschool for us and much more regimented than Teacher Sally’s, so it will be a change for us.  Of course Sally’s was pretty low-key and this is an actual formal co-op preschool.  I think it will be fun.  Ella is beside herself with excitement.  It will be fun for her to have her own time away from the others and make her own friends. 

It’s supposed to be 90 today so we are going to try to get to the spray park for one last hurrah before the end of summer.  The weather is supposed to turn this weekend and I am sure it won’t be too hot again this year.  I have begun to see the bats flying past our window at dusk which is a sure sign of fall around here. Apples (the few we have) are ripe and blackberries falling off the vine, pumpkins are huge and overall it just smells like fall.

Okay it officially feels like fall around here. It is 45 degrees this morning – although it is sunny and the forecast is for 80 degrees today – there is a definite chill in the air.

Liam slept thru til 6am and then has fallen back asleep so I actually have time to write while all the kids are still asleep.  I am drinking coffee from my new coffee maker and enjoying the am.  I am really going to be a regular blogger like the rest of all of you because I love reading your blogs – especially those of you who post frequently!

This summer went by so fast, probably because it has not been very hot here.  With all of Morgan’s volunteer committments, summer festivals, visits from cousins and a few days at the beach – it just flew by.  Now the school year is upon us – we have started some stuff when our new books came but probably won’t officially start til next week.  Soccer practice and orientations take up the rest of the week.  It is fun getting back into a routine but kind-of weird since I haven’t really had one since Liam has been born.  I am only planning to continue working 1 to 1.5 days a week and I haven’t had to be at the deli so I feel like a stay at home mom – and I like it.  I think I must be getting older – I don’t like to go, go, go as much and I don’t feel the pressure to do it all.

but that said – I am planning to do some new stuff this fall – start expanding my lactation support stuff at the doctor’s office, teach childbirth classes there this winter and start doing massage again.  I’d like to focus on pregnancy massage and start my doula practice as well.  All this in very small doses so I don’t get overwhelmed  but I am excited to start doing things I love again.

OK that’s alot for me!  Will post some new pics of summer stuff….

A way too short visit with Amy, Steve and the kids – great to have you all up at the house.  Wish it could have been longer but we are looking forward to Sunday at Dad and Maria’s!

Well after we decided to keep the dog – we named him Jasper – after having him for 20 days – during which we purchased an wireless dog fence, had him neutered, got his shots, treated him for fleas and worms and generally treated him like a king – he bit my child. He has to go. For me that is it.  This has definitely been question of ethics for me but I cannot in good faith keep a dog who bit my child unprovoked.   Of course the dog may have thought that a 3 year old walking by the couch and patting it where he was sleeping was provocation but she had to have 4 stitches on her face last night and now the dog must go.   So the shelter will take him for 10 days on quarantine (in case he has rabies) and then they euthanize him.  (All for $150) They don’t take dogs that bite, neither do the rescue groups.  An aggressive dog is not acceptable to either of these organizations.  I decided that we must go this route and then the shelter says they don’t have room for him.  I must keep the dog for 10 days and then have him put down (if I choose). SO after numerous phone calls (and hours) I found a boarding house to take him (for $11/day) til his quarantine is up then I have to decide what to do……..I don’t see how I can keep him – I can’t trust him at all at this point and I don’t see how I can ethically give him away knowing he may do this again to someone else.  Of course the dog boarder thinks he can be rehabilitated with extensive training.. What am I supposed to do now – I don’t think I have the emotional or physcial resources to keep this dog. Any ideas?????