Today was the best day ever.

First, we drove to a gorgeous lake and fished for several hours. We didn't catch anything, which is just fine with me. I'm a big fan of sitting by a lake. I'm not a big fan of braining a poor little trout and then gutting him/her.

Then! We went to this cute little winery on the banks of a river. The wine isn't great, but the setting is lovely. We did buy a few bottles because we felt obligated--we tasted just about their whole winelist.

And then! After Anna's dog obedience class with Legend, we went out for dinner. We haven't been out for dinner in, I kid you not, six or so months. And the restaurant we chose just happened to have live music! And! The band sang "All Along the Watchtower"! I was thrilled.

Tomorrow, it's time to clean the yards. Bleh.

Hi, I really haven't abandoned this blog. I think about blogging everyday. I just don't have time right now. Maybe tonight?

We're going fishing today, and then hopefully we'll swing by a cute little winery. We'll see.

Spring is here! I really think I'm gonna have a garden this year. Conor has been collecting seeds this winter. He seems to be especially enthralled with corn.

I really dislike Daylight Savings Time. It just throws me off, and throws the kids off too. I should be sleeping right now but my body thinks it's only 9:30. The kids are in their beds, but they are reading because they aren't sleepy. Tomorrow morning will suck suck suck.

Conor won one wrestling match and lost two. He was devastated. I'm thrilled that he even goes out onto the mat--it's so nerve wracking just watching him.

I really messed up my right shin. When I walk on the treadmill, I last about 15 minutes because it hurts so much and a big old bump develops. The lump eventually goes away after about half an hour. It doesn't happen if I use the elliptical trainer or the bike--just the treadmill. Weird.

Also, my right ear is all crazy. For two months or more, it has felt all full and hurts periodically and I can't hear out of it very well. Sunday, I was super dizzy. Guess it's time to go to the doctor.

I'm falling apart! Getting old really bites.

Anna is doing really well. She got all As and Bs this last quarter. Yay! She gets a new-to-her cellphone as a reward.

Over the course of the last month or so, Conor was tested for learning disabilities. We got the results on Friday.

It looks like he has the same disabilities as Anna--working memory, processing speed, and fine motor. He also probably has ADD, but the school psychologist really ranted against medicating him when I mentioned it.

The recommendation of the team was that his disabilites aren't pronounced enough yet for him to receive special education. They feel he can be managed best in the classroom. It was acknowledged that because he's in a Montessori classroom, he gets more attention than if he were in a regular classroom and he would probably need services if he were in a regular classroom.

I didn't kick up a fuss during the meeting because I was trying to absorp it all, but now I'm pissed. It sort of seems like the system is setting him up to fail, and that really irritates me. We were told over and over that he's bright and that will help him get through this. I agree, but some of the brightest people I know--my dad, my sister, Darren--also have learning disabilities and either received or could have benefitted from special education.

I don't know what I'm going to do about this yet. Maybe just wait and see. Maybe I'll throw a fit. I haven't decided.

And then!

Anna called at 8:30 to be picked up. She'd had like 30 minutes of sleep but all the other girls left to watch a volleyball tournament, and she was supposed to help with a yard sale fundraiser deal for the D. C. trip.

So when she got home she and I had a massive fight over going to bed vs. handling responsibilities. I let her sleep a little, then dragged her to the yard sale. No one there. Went home and called the teacher in charge. The yard sale has been changed--it will be next week, at the same time I'll be at Conor's first wrestling meet. Darren will be working next weekend, of course. Time for a clone.

Now Anna is asleep in her room, Darren and Conor are at the rec center, and I'm sitting here after cleaning my kitchen with a big old headache and a woe-is-me attitude. Being the mom of a teenager is just not easy.

Nice quiet morning around here. Anna's at a birthday party sleepover. Conor's still asleep.

So the sleepover thing was a little weird. First, she was supposed to show up at the birthday girl's house. Later, she informed me that they were all meeting at the rec center. When Darren took her over, he walked in with her so he could introduce himself to parents or guardians or whatever. There were no parents or guardians--just six twelve-year-olds running amok.

He called to inform me of the situation. We agreed that we felt fine with Anna being there by herself. After all, she's twelve. She can hang around with friends without adult supervision for an hour or two.

The plan was that the birthday girl's parents would pick them up at the rec center and take them to Pizza Hut. Anna called me to let me know they were heading over to Pizza Hut at about 6:30 or so. Silly me, I just assumed that meant the parents were present and driving them.

We were headed to the rec center ourselves. And who did we see on the way there? Anna, standing on the corner of Main Street with two friends, trying to cross to get to Pizza Hut. We pulled over to speak with her.

It turns out the parents never showed up at the rec center, so the girls just decided to head to Pizza Hut by themselves. Darren and I decided we were uneasy, but wanted Anna to have a nice time with her friends, especially because parents were joining the girls at Pizza Hut any minute. We instructed her to call before she left Pizza Hut and made sure she crossed Main safely and went on our way.

She didn't call and didn't call, so Darren finally called her before we left the rec center. The girls were done eating and still waiting for parents to show up. At that point, we were done. We swung by Pizza Hut and picked Anna up. And boy, was she pissed.

We explained that a)for six girls, three hours without parental supervision is PLENTY, and b)there was no way in hell she was spending the night with a family who couldn't be bothered to be organized enough to show up for their daughter's birthday party.

Finally we talked about it rationally. She decided to call one of the girls to find out if there was a new plan. There was--another set of parents stepped up and volunteered to have all the girls spend the night at their house. I wish I would have thought of that! At any rate, Anna got directions to the new house and Darren took her over. He was happy to report that these parents seemed quite rational and together and thrilled to have the girls over.

Phew! Crisis averted, and everything resolved.