Friday, February 24, 2012

Not Really A Single Parent (But It Feels Like It)

My husband is a chef. He's been in kitchens since he was 14. It's the only job he's ever done in his life, and so far seems to be the only job he'll ever do. From the first time we even got together (at the ripe old age of 17) I knew that we wouldn't be one of those couples who would be home at the same time for most of the week. I was fine with that- I'm one of those people who likes to be alone at times and I thrive on setting myself in a regular routine. Up until 2009, my husband worked at stand alone restaurants or in the hotel industry. This meant that nights, weekends and holidays it was pretty much a lock that he'd be working and I'd be home alone with the kids. Again, I knew this when I signed up for the gig as wife of a chef.

In 2009, this changed. He went into corporate dining (for privacy's sake, I won't mention the name, but it's a big company). This meant a bigger salary, better benefits, and supposedly "more family time." As in, in theory, he works Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM (pretty normal hours for a corporate chef). In practice he works from 5:30 AM until 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, or even 9:00 at night. I would be fine with this if there was some sort of consistency. There's nothing worse in not knowing when he's going to be coming home. It sets the kids off- they always ask "when will Dad be home?" Sometimes he's home for dinner, sometimes he makes it home for goodnight stories and other times he doesn't get home until they are already asleep. In a way, I would rather he not be home until after they are in bed all the time. We have a routine, and when he comes home randomly, it just screws with the routine.

We had a talk about this issue this week. I honestly told him that I need him to be more consistent. And if he was going to be home after 6:30 but before 8:00, he should delay until after 8:00. This didn't go over well. But honestly, I can't deal with it. Dinner to Bedtime is awful in our house. Adding him to the mix randomly doesn't work.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A to Z about Me!

I feel the need to stretch my writing muscles- too much reading, little to no writing. I'm also bad at just picking a random thing and going with it (and truthfully, my kids aren't that interesting right now so I can't imagine boring people with the trials and tribulations of 1st and 3rd grade homework gone awry).

So, to re-boot an old internet meme- I present the

A to Z


A. Age: 33

B. Bed size: Queen. It works for us. Neither of us is very large, and it discourages the children from camping in with us.

C. Chore that you hate: The stupid dishes. Why can't we just eat out of the pots and pans? Or eat everything off of tortillas? Those Mayans had the right idea.

D. Dogs: None. Just don't have the time, not that I'm anti-dog.

E. Essential start to your day: A shower without any interruptions- I will not settle arguments, tie shoes or pour you a drink while I'm in the shower. The door has a lock for a reason- yelling through it or sticking your fingers underneath it will not help your cause.

F. Favorite color: Blue

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5' 4"- the average height of an American Woman

I. Instruments that you play: I took years of piano, played the sax in elementary school, but I don't think any of it has stuck around in my brain

J. Job title: Office Manager (fancy way of saying "Doing the shit in the office that no one else wants to do, in order to keep the place running)

K. Kids: Adeline- almost 9, Anaya- 7, Avery- 4.5 (my girls are fantastic, most of the time)

L. Live: Phoenix Metro area

M. Mother's name: Ma

N. Nicknames: KB, Rah

O. Overnight hospital stays: 3 births- all c-sections (one emergency, the other two scheduled, because, if I already had the scar tissue, I sure as hell wasn't pushing a baby out of my vagina by choice)

P. Pet peeves: People opening cabinets and not closing them. How fricking difficult is it to close the damn door???

Q. Quote from a movie: She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen. (Say Anything)

R: Right or left handed: Right

S: Siblings: 2 younger brothers, 1 younger sister

T. Treat you adore: A really cold, strong margarita while sitting poolside. Or my Mom's apple pie

U. Underwear: cotton

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Peas, cabbage, broccoli

W. What makes you run late: Getting everyone out the door on time is almost impossible. I pad my time by trying to leave 30 minutes before I actually need to do so.

X. X-rays you've had: Arm- fell down the stairs and my elbow swelled up, turns out it was just a bone bruise. Teeth and jaw at the dentist- one of those cool ones that go all the way around your head

Y. Yummy food that you make: I'm a pretty damned good cook. Pork carnitas. Apple pie. Chocolate chip cookies. Quiche. Risotto. I know my way around the kitchen, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Z. Zoo animal: Otters. The monkeys with the red butts. Hippos. Zoos are awesome. Unless you go with my husband who walks around with you telling you exactly how he'd cook a specific animal and what he thinks it tastes like.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Things that are Older Than Arizona

Today, Arizona celebrates 100 years of statehood. Congratulations Arizona, for being the 48th state, the last to be admitted into the contiguous States of the Union. I suppose the reason why it took so long is that no one really wanted Arizona. I mean, sure, we were willing to give the land to the Native Americans after we forced them off their tribal lands, but actual statehood? Come on now. So, in honor of this milestone, I've put together a list of Things that are Older Than Arizona

1. My hometown- Weymouth, MA- settled in 1630, incorporated in 1635. Way older than Arizona.
2. The Boston Red Sox- established in 1901 (named the Red Sox in 1908)
3. Anne of Green Gables novels- published in 1908, arguably the first "young adult" novels written
4. Boy Scouts of America- established 1910
5. Crayola Crayons- 1885
6. Theory of Relativity- 1905
7. Vaccines- 1796
8. Groundhog's Day- 1886
9. Methuselah- a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Tree in California- 4,843 years old, still living
10. George the Lobster- born 1896, released back into the wild in 2009, presumed to still be living

Obviously this list is not all inclusive. Many other things are older than 100 years old.