Seeing students at the pool...

Last night Isaac asked if we could go swimming. He has a free membership to our local YMCA because I use the Y for childcare. Sadly, we rarely take advantage of it. We had nothing else going on, so we hopped in the car and went on over. The YMCA is only a few blocks away from the school where I teach. Sure enough, I had barely got into the pool when a girl came swimming over to me.

"Hey! I know you! You teach at my school"

"Yep."

"You came to our class during autism awareness week and read us that story about autism!"

"Yep."

"Do you have any kids?"

"Yes-- that's my son right there."

"Oh-- is he adopted?"

"No, he's biracial. His dad's from Africa. Well-- see you!"

But nothing beats the time I was doing day to day subbing and I was in the locker room. I had just peeled off my swimsuit and was standing naked and wrapped up in a towel when this girl points to me and goes "Hey!!! You were our substitute last week!!!"

Mortifying.

how time flies...

Isaac is so goofy and funny.

Even when he doesn't mean to be. This is his homework journal I discovered today. I giggled about it all night.

(in case you couldn't tell it says "This is My HeD. It is BROWN.")

He is slowly giving in and integrating some lowercase letters into his writing after much resistance. He mastered all of the kindergarten sight words by winter and he has now mastered most of the first grade sightwords as well. He is great at decoding words and it is getting harder to hide things from him when it is convenient for me ("That's not what that says mom!"). He loves Junie B. Jones books and we have been cuddling up together and reading several chapters of one each evening. He will make me read the silly parts over and over again.

He continues to be an avid sports fan. He watches Comcast Sports Net over Nickelodean or Disney Channel most times. He isn't picky either. He loves to watch baseball, basketball, hockey or soccer, college or pro. He will watch men's or women's although he refers to all women's sports as "lady ball".

He continues to be embarassingly superior to his peers in soccer. And I'm not just saying that. He should be playing with eight year olds, not four year olds. But whatever. But he also loves to shoot baskets, to play "baseball" with my dad, to ride bikes and play frisbee. He is a regular at his school's Zumbatronic club. He loves to hop out of the car when I stop at the mailbox bank about a block from my house and to run along trying to beat the car. He would rather be outside playing than plunked in front of the TV and for a kid with no siblings or neighborhood friends he keeps himself pretty busy playing by himself in our tiny postage stamp of a yard.

He is currently on a Michael Jackson kick and begs me to put on The Essential Michael Jackson whenever we are in the car. Not only does he love all of the classics (Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, PYT, etc) but he knows some of the more obscure disco-ey ones. The other day on the playground he was singing "Blame It on the Boogie" to himself. He has also memorized all of the tracks and when he knows I am tired of a song he will ask me to listen to "number 8" ones more time to try to trick me into playing it yet again. One of his favorite songs is "Dance and Shout Parenthesis Shake Your Body Down to the Ground". Even though I don't think he could tell you what a parenthesis is.

He continues to have definite ideas about fashion. He is not as into action hero shirts as he used to be. He definitely favors shirts with sports themes or logos on them. We still have to alternate days choosing his clothes so that he doesn't exclusively wear warmups and sweatsuits. He regularly eschews underwear in the evening hours. His feet are growing so fast we can hardly keep him in sneakers (I'm not exaggerating, I think he is on his fifth or sixth pair this school year!). Since the time he was a baby he has had the same trouble with pants: they are too big in the waist and too short in the legs. He is a long skinny minnie. When given a choice, he tends to chose clothes that are red.

I love you Isaac and I'm so glad you are home!!

are you there blogger? It's me, Lisa.

Yesterday was a great day, despite the fact that it rained off and on all day. Isaac still had soccer and he played really well.

Then I met his dad at our exchange spot and Isaac was off to his Dad's without any drama. Five minutes later my friend Selena met me and we headed to Anthropologie. I tried on a really gorgeous and flattering sundress, but even with my paycheck freshly deposited in my bank account I couldn't justify the price. (And it was on clearance!!!! That store sucks). Then we parked our cars and headed into the city.

Our plan was to meet up with Becca and Jami and head to the Art Star Bazaar (which is pretty much like Etsy threw up all over Penn's Landing).. Almost as soon as we met up with Becca she got a call that the alarm at the house she just bought was going off, so we piled in her mini-cooper and headed over to Fishtown. Fortuneatly, it was a false alarm. seemingly tripped for no reason. We got to see the amazing home that she and Stephen have purchased and is in the middle of renovations. It was amazing. Becca showed us around a little. There had been men there earlier that morning putting in central air and all new ducts and the place is still kind of a mess but it is easy to imagine what the house will look like when it's all fixed up.

While we were there we heard a sad little meowing. It took us forever to pin point where it was coming from, but we discovered a little cat was trapped in under the floorboards and was crying right by the newly installed duct. We spent the next few hours trying to rescue her and we discovered that she was ridiculously friendly. We could see her and touch her but we couldn't make a space between the duct and the floorboards wide enough for her to crawl through. She was super friendly though and was purring and trying to play with us even though she was trapped. Here's a picture:

You can see the cat peeking out in the space we made from bending the duct back (and by bending, I mean hammered repeatedly and used a piece of random wood to push in on itself). Then Becca had the great idea to put a piece of carpet near the opening so that he could put his claws on it and hoist himself out which worked.

We decided to go out and get the cat some food and then call the SPCA. And wouldn't you know as soon as we walked out of the house we saw two signs on nearby telephones looking for a lost orange cat. We called the number and one of Becca's neighbor's came running around the corner almost in tears. Turns out the cat's name was fire and it has been missing since mother's day. The woman said she had gone to her aunt's funeral the day before and prayed to her that she would somehow help her find the missing cat. So, I think it was her aunt that tripped the alarm. Creepyish, but there is no other explanation really.

Anyways, we grabbed some lunch at the Rocket Cat Cafe and then decided there was still time to head over to Art Star. I ended up buying one of these scarves (the seeds and pebbles circle design on purple jersey-- so cute!). Then we headed back to Becca's for a while and then finally we to Grace's Tavern where we got some dinner before catching a train home. Sadly, got caught in a monsoon and so it took quite a bit of time to drive home. Overall, it was a lovely little Saturday.

How was your weekend?

Quickly

How sweet is my friend Meagan for stopping by tonight with all of this?! Candy? Cookie mix? TOBLERONE?! Fresh flowers? It definitely cheered me up from my lonely mother's day. She is so thoughtful.

30 Day Challenge

If you have a facebook account it's pretty much inconcievable that you haven't come across the 30 Day Song Challenge. I figured I would do it in one shot here.

day 01 – your favorite song - Of course, I have to put the disclaimer: who can really choose a favorite song? But if push came to shove this would probably be it. Anna Begins by Counting Crows.

day 02 – your least favorite song - Anything by Train. I'm over Train.

day 03 – a song that makes you happy - Erasure - A Little Respect

day 04 – a song that makes you sad - Sarah McLachlan - Hold On (it just reminds me of sad times in my life)

day 05 – a song that reminds you of someone - Three Little Birds (or anything by Bob Marley, really) will always remind me of Isaac's dad.

day 06 – a song that reminds you of somewhere - John Denver - Take Me Home Country Roads. It reminds me of all of the times I spent in West Virginia during college. They always play that song at WV sporting events.

Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event. This song by Beyonce makes me think of driving around South Street on a warm sunny night with a friend of mine. I let her drive my car and we just played this song over and over.

Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to

Day 09 – A song that you can dance to. Madison Avenue - Don't Call Me Baby

Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep My Time- Mackintosh Braun

Day 11 – A song from your favorite band - anything Counting Crows. There's already several here.

Day 12 – A song from a band you hate - anything Train. Look it up yourself.

Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure

Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love... Rebecca Black - Friday. I really do!

Day 15 – A song that describes you The Offspring - She's Got Issues. Not the issues in the song. Just the title. I've got issues. Who doesn't?

day 16 - a song you used to love but now you hate. I went through a Stars phase for a while. Now I just get annoyed when anything from that album comes up on my ipod. (Stars - Dead Hearts)

day 17 – a song that you hear often on the radio Britney Spears - Till the World Ends (LOVE LOVE LOVE this one)

day 18 – a song that you wish you heard on the radio - Dashboard Confession (featuring Adam Duritz) - So Long, So Long day 19 – a song from your favorite album Counting Crows - St. Robinson and His Caddillac Dream

day 20 – a song that you listen to when you’re angry - It's not an "angry" song per say but Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks is one of my personal angry songs.

day 21 – a song that you listen to when you’re happy - Girl I'm Tryin' by J Brazil. It's silly but it's a happy fun song that I play a lot when I am getting ready to go out.

day 22 – a song that you listen to when you’re sad - Counting Crows - Catapult

day 23 – a song that you want to play at your wedding - The Cupid Shuffle. I want to see my mom, etc. doing it.

day 24 – a song that you want to play at your funeral - I would want to Rick Roll everyone at the funeral.

day 25 – a song that makes you laugh Will.i.am - Big and Chunky. Isaac and I sing it to each other all the time.

day 26 – a song that you can play on an instrument - none anymore. Isn't that sad?

day 27 – a song that you wish you could play n/a No desire to play an instrument.

day 28 – a song that makes you feel guilty I can't think of anything. Sometimes I feel mildly guilty for having some more graphic stuff my Lil Wayne on my ipod, but I like to listen to it at the gym. Sue me.

day 29 – a song from your childhood - Paula Abdul Straight Up

day 30 – your favorite song at this time last year - I'm not sure. Probably something by Owl City. I was pretty into Owl City last year.

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just keeping it real

I'm in a funk.

I miss Isaac.

I know he is having fun. I know he is safe and having the time of his life. I know I should be enjoying the time to myself that I always seem to covet.

But tonight.. I just miss him.

I also miss the rest of my family. I generally talk to my mom on the phone at least once a day. I talk to my dad at least once a week. I talk to or see my brother's frequently. I just feel lonely. Yesterday was the culmination of loneliness. Although it wasn't a major holiday, I don't generally spend holidays completely alone.

I stayed late at work tonight (till about six thirty), since I hadn't made any plans and didn't really have anything to come home to. Which sucks and just set the tone for a night of wallowing in ridiculous self pity.

I'm just overwhelmed by stuff. Which makes me feel sort of paralyzed. So instead of trying to deal with things I just bury my head passively in the sand and do nothing and my life implodes around me.

Okay, that's a bit dramatic.

But it's true more or less.

And I don't give into the temptation very often but today I got stuck listening to those old voices and just thinking catastrophically. (I have no friends, I'm unattractive, I will be alone forever).

It really hit me that I am almost 30. Which is just such a significant milestone-type birthday. I don't know. I just thought I would have more stuff figured out by now. Since I'm about to be a real full-blown adult. I just thought I would be more together.

Anyways, all of those thoughts resulted in me going on an emotion fuelled eating binge.

Which left me feeling even more disgusted with myself.

Which makes me feel even more unlovable and lonely.

And it spirals on.

In general I'm good at staying positive and being content. But tonight is not one of those nights...

Sunday Sunday

It's been a fun few days. Wednesday night Isaac left for my mom's to fly out to Orlando the next day. My dad sent me a few pictures of him. Here is one:

Looks like he is having a miserable time doesn't he? =P

Thursday I met up with my friend Jami for delicious Panera dinner and then ran back up to attend a school board meeting which ended up keeping me out till almost 11! Lots of drama with next year's budget and I like to be in the know when I can go. Friday I logged in a couple of hours after school with coworkers helping prepare for the art show. This year the theme is jungle/rainforest. I will try to take and post some pictures. The transformation is incredible. Then I went out to dinner with the Hilbert's.

Saturday I finally caught up with some stuff around the house. I got the Easter decorations put away, did some laundry, just generally tidied up. Around noon I met up with some coworker's to see Water for Elephants. It was our book group selection for the month (I had read it previously). The movie was good. I would give it 4/5 stars. Robert Pattison was great as Jacob and Reese Witherspoon was great as Marlena, but I felt like they lacked some chemistry together. She is so much older than him. I don't know. Then we went out to Olive Garden and had a delicious dinner. Our waitress was terrible but our food was good.

After that my next stop was Ikea. I got this painting for the office:

It's a pretty big canvas. I got a few other things too, including a much needed floor lamp and some new trashcans.

Then I came home and cleaned some more and talked to an e-harmony guy on the phone. We have been texting and e-mail for a week or two and he seemed really nice. On the phone... I don't know. I'm not trying to be mean... but... yeah...

Sunday I woke up and prepared my Sunday school lesson, only to have, once again, no one show up to hear it. I was kind of irritated so I peaced out before RS. Sunday was the day I really started to seriously get lonely without Isaac. It was a tiny bit depressing to not be with your mom or your child on mother's day. I did speak to them both on the phone though. I also went for a really long bike ride, took a nap and steam cleaned the seats in my car.

Anyways, have a great week.