We went, we saw, we had fun

And here is my helpful advice:

• All passes and tickets have fast pass. All of them. We were 1/2 way through day 2 when I thought to ask how to get said things. Apparently they are free with any ticket.
• They will give you free cups of ice water if you ask at the restaurants. You don't have to haul a day's worth of cold water bottles with you. 
• Avoid the parking garage, aim for the surface lot
• Go to the fireworks show and stand/sit in front of the castle. Pick your spot an hour ahead of time and bring stuff to do while waiting. It's worth it, it's super cool. 
• Check the seat of the roller coaster after you and your kids get out to avoid the panic of returning to try to find a lost cell phone. 
• If you scream like a girl going down the roller coasters, you won't pass out from holding your breath. 
• Extra memory cards for the camera
• Avoid the pizza place there. It makes little ceasar's look and taste gourmet.

I actually purchased the striped down season passes available to southern ca residents. We can't go on any of the school vacation days or Saturdays, but we can go a good chunk of the year and gives me a reason to keep the kids out of school randomly. This of course is a good case to homeschool, however.. I learned that as long as they are in their seats at 8:15 when attendance is taken, they are considered present for that day. Besides.. it took a week of bribing Sonia with going for her to learn her multiplication facts. I forsee the threat of leaving her in school for not getting her homework done a valuable tool in the ADD toolbox.

In other news.. We had kindergarten orientation yesterday. Nothing has changed, and just incase it did with the increased insanity at the school with the parking/cones/etc... in the parking lot, I wondered... will they address the cones - are you allowed to go around or not go around the cones? Exactly what is the right way to access the kindergarten gate? Yeah. They skipped that part.  The school sends out automated recorded messages and the principal already sent a "we know the parking lot is going to be crazy, please plan ahead" message. Considering there wasn't an open parking space the day of kinder orientation, I can't wait.

So we found out that Jon has Kayla's kindergarten teacher. Who knows him as JonMichael. So after all the drama of "what are you going to be called in school" being Jon Cowles, he is in fact still going to be JonMichael this year. So says his cubbie and folders at school. Lovely. I signed up to be classroom garden parent. It appears she had other volunteers for the stuff I used to volunteer for. Besides, I'm planning on working. And I'm already involved in the garden.

The garden- I think it's a great idea, frankly, for the kids to learn where their food comes from. I've been surprised that people think my offering them fruit or veggies or eggs from our yard is either great or gross. I'm not surprised by the great response- I mean who says no to free, fresh food? It's the "you grew this? and you expect me to eat this? That's gross" response that shocks me. So the school, in following our example, has started installing solar panels, and the garden is started so that they can start growing food for the cafeteria. And compost. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear they will be composting. I'm hoping they'll switch to non-disposable trays and silverware -the amount of trash that cafeteria produces is shocking. Of course I'm a weird crunchy granola-y libertarian odd ball.

Back to school: the rest of the school's class rosters were posted today. Joey has a teacher no one has heard of before. I'm going to guess she's new. I'm hoping optimistically that this is a good thing. After last year with a newer teacher, I hesitate. Sonia has a tried and true teacher with a bunch of kids she knows. Joey has at least 2 friends/acquaintances in his class. And the fun begins on Monday. whoo hoo!!  I'd say let's party but in actuality I'll be heading to work after I drop them off. This reality stuff isn't much fun.

We're going to.....

Disneyland!!!

No. Really. We are.

As long as I don't break my ankle tonight or something equally tragic.

The kids and I. Larry's on call. And we might even stay overnight and go a second day.

Because I want to live richly. Really richly.

Because working like a dog has got to have SOMETHING to show for it.

I worked again tonight. (Bah) and while I have to say I really appreciate having been able to go bug the Docs at St Lukes for help at whim, being the Senior NP on staff is rather frightening. And that's what tonight was. And in a fun and ironic twist, I got to ask my co-NP to approve my Rx's (still, hours done, but no fancy number from the state yet) and she'd ask me what to do for her patients. Or better yet... see her patients. While she complains all night of how many patients she's booked while I'm seeing twice as many since she's still on 1/2 booked schedule.

AHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the crown jewel of tonight was a child brought in with diarrhea. Pull up his shirt and find surgical scars and steri strips. Ahem. did said child have surgery sometime recently? yes. actually he did. But he's being seen at our clinic as a walk in because he's in a great deal of pain and the surgeons office didn't answer his phone tonight.

I love my job. I love my job. I love my job.

I have to tell myself that because after paying taxes and the babysitter, the babysitter makes $2/hr more than I do.

And if she translates Spanish/English wrong or make the wrong decision she won't run the risk of getting sued.

(bangs head here)

But tomorrow, after all summer of insanity such as this, I get to find the hidden Mickeys, (opposed to the slipped mickeys) wait in lines, wear sunscreen and take lots of pictures.

And for their "what I did on my summer vacation" essays my kids will have something to remember. Insecure parenting at it's finest.

At least last year we missed that week and the whole world knew we were in CT, stranded without water, power or electricity due to a lovely hurricane. This year, I have to top a hurricane, grandparents and missing a week of school. 2 days of Disney ought to do it, I think.

Pictures to follow.

Although if I break my foot, we're not going anywhere other than the ER. I joke but I've injury prone and tripped over shoes already once tonight. So you'll either year later of the vacation day of the year or the trip of the year. Or not. I'm not all that great about updating this thing. So keep guessing and you'll hear eventually.

That was prophetic.

Last night as I was typing how good "Jon" is with scissors, guess what he was doing? Oh, I know it's a long shot.... yep. Cutting. He took not 1, not 2 but 3!! pairs of scissors to his room to bed with him. I check on him while going to yell at the girls for staying up all night and.... what do my eyes spy.. tiny confetti sized paper everywhere. Someone body decided to cut into microscopic pieces his brother's book report. I have a deal here since nothing else works. Joey will do 5 book reports and do them well, Sonia will know her multiplication, Kayla will know her addition and subtraction and JM will read 3 letter words and apparently we also need to work on knowing his name.. and in return for said skills being done and learned by Tues, they get to go to Disney. Anyone who doesn't know said skills will have their ticket sold on Craigslist.


Today I went to the Base pool with my kids and 3 more strays I picked up along the way and 2 more we picked up at the pool. (that would be 9 kids if you're counting along) I actually ran out of seats in the truck today. Sonia swore she put suncreen on her face, but her face tells another story. We even bought her the SPF 50 stick because she says that one works the best, but somehow that does not seem to be the case. Either that or it's not waterproof. Maybe I better to re-read the package.

But before I do that, I've got to go round up a few kids and return them home. I'm done having the house of perpetual chaos. I'm looking for a house of peace, tranquility, sleeping kids and maybe a glass or two of wine. Or a bowl of ice cream. Although I think there are fewer calories in wine. Decisions, decisions, decisions....

Hot. Dang hot. Maybe Global warming is happening

I know I usually live in paradise, but it appears the thermostat here in paradise is broken in the record breaking hot direction. Compared to the place in Texas Larry want to moved to, it's not hot or muggy. But we've been here 4 years. In my mind is it both hot and muggy. It's been in the 90s.

In other miserable news, the cat has gone missing. I'm guessing it was either hawk or coyote food, but he went out one night and never came back. I feel bad about that. And that I had just spent the money to get the dang thing fixed and his shots. That was a very expensive meal for coyotes. And I feel bad. He wasn't that terrible for a cat.

In less miserable news, the kids are now swimming. And without $200 of lessons this summer. We did 2 private lessons I traded eggs for and that was all it took. Well, that and it's been dang hot so I've been willing to go to the pool. Alot. I've even been swimming in it.

Back on the miserable front, I applied for life insurance again. Apparently I am insurable, but at the "there's a chance you'll drop dead rate" and this frustrates me.  At the end of 20 years, I'll have paid the amount that they might pay Larry if I die between now and then.  It's frustrating because either I have something or I don't. If you're going to decide there's something wrong with me, go ahead and tell me that to my face and start the intraferon. If you're just going to put it in my medical chart and leave me oblivious, you're making it difficult to get life insurance. And pissing me off. I'm talking you to, oh team of interns at the hospital I've seen. *sigh* I'm going to have to make an apt to have a heart to heart with my "your new primary care doctor is" intern. I get the letter every July. I'm pretty sure they assign me the worse intern ever. But I've spouted my thoughts on military medicine before. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm not a glowing fan.

Of course I've been operating in the bubble of I can't have "undefined demylenating disease" because no 2 neurologists can agree on it.  Tricare denied the last MRI ordered since I can't have this disease, but the life insurance policy is written that I must have it because I don't have a recent MRI documenting non-progression. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad, they wouldn't insure JM, either. They were adding riders for all the kids and he's also uninsurable. And he's only 5, he's got a lifetime of this crap ahead of him. Hopefully.

He's told the school he wants to be Jon at the kindergarten testing day. He also told him his last name was Michael. The teacher left parents outside for the testing, but had to come out to ask me "uh, what is your son's name really?" because Jon Michael wasn't on the roster. I'm not sure what else they asked him. He told me they had him cut with scissors and tell them the colors. Well, heck.. he's great with scissors- did you give him hair and/or bedsheets to cut? he's awesome at getting alot of cuts in on those. Colors? well, I thought he knew them but he was trying to tell me his black shoes were white. I though he was kidding, but he was really insistent. He'll probably be in the drooly wheelchair kindergarten class til November, just like his mother was. (ha. I should write about that someday. And people wonder why I'm weird.)

Well this weirdness has had enough internet for the night. Ramble at you later...