the last day and hot pockets

So today was the official last day of school.  I mean last hour.  Because there was only one hour of school.  But today was it.  My kids all made it through their school year with ease, and that's a great feeling.  Alex was pretty lazy about his final quarter and exams, but the girls did great.  Megan got on High Honor Roll, and Alex made Honor Roll - little smarties.

It was 98 degrees out today.  In fact, as I write this at 6 pm, I believe the temp is still in the 90s.  Crazy.  We spent the afternoon in the pool, which was really nice.  Alex was supposed to have a soccer game, and Brookie had a Little League game, but they were both actually cancelled because of how very hot it is.

I usually don't mind the heat if I can be in the shade or the water.  But I definitely have a hard time if there's no air conditioning - especially at night when I am trying to sleep.  We've had it for so long, I think my body is spoiled.  It does not respond well to being forced to endure hot stuffiness.  Here at my house, both of my Alex's have environmental allergies, so we can't leave windows and doors open for like, fresh air.  This time of year, their allergies seem to get worse, so even in transitional weather periods, when you normally would have some outside air flow going on, we can't really do that.  Which is where the beauteous AC comes in.

Just today, I noticed for like, the second or third time in a week, that there was pretty much a hot pocket of air upstairs near my laundry room and I couldn't figure out what the deal was.  It was a hot pocket even when I wasn't running the washer or dryer, and it was kind of driving me a little crazy.  I'd walk through and feel the thick heat and it would momentarily throw me into an oh-my-cod-the a/c-is-down-we're-all-going-to-be-forced-to-live-in-sweaty-squalor! panic.  Then I'd make it through and just go, huh?  So today, I did a little deep sleuthing and discovered that my ditzy son has been leaving the bathroom window open while he showers.  Letting all of that nice expensive cold air right out in to the back yard.  Greeeeaaat.

Well at least I know now, and hopefully won't have to suffer through any more scary moments like that.  I mean, sheesh.

So tomorrow, we're going to sit down in the morning and come up with a list of fun things to do this summer.  It's going to feel so official when we don't have to get up and rush rush rush.  Awesome.  Happy Summer!

third days and forgetting your kids

                                                                                                   Santa Fe, NM sky

Welp.  Kinda feels like summer has begun.  This is the last week of school for my kids, and it barely even counts.  I hate this week.  Because Monday through Wednesday, the girls have a "half day."  I am air quoting half day because it is actually more like 2 and a half hours of school.  It's more like a third day.  Let's call a spade a spade.  And Thursday may as well not even be considered a school day at all, because the kids literally go in to school for one hour.  Yep.  One hour.  It's not even worth my time getting up and dressed and driving Brooke to school for an hour.

Anyway, my problem with the third days is this.  I forget to pick up my kid.  All joking aside, I am mental.  I have a blockage somewhere in my brain that makes me forget certain things.  Like picking up my kid from school apparently.  Which is exactly why having my iPhone is so important to me.  Because I have conveniently set an alarm to go off every school day a few minutes before dismissal.  Except however, on the days that the kids are going to be released early.  Those days, I am on my own.  And damn it all, I forgot to pick my poor little Brookie up today.  Thank Cod that I happened to randomly look at the clock at 11:39.  On these third days,  she gets out at 11:30, and it only takes me about 2 or 3 minutes to drive to where I pick her up.  But you guys, 11:39!

So anyway, there are times when I haven't been there on the nose for whatever reason.  She just sits in the grass by the crossing guard and waits for me.  But I've never gotten there more than a couple of minutes later than she has.  But the extra bad thing about today was that Brooke was having a friend over after school.  Which  means I wasn't just late for my kid, I was late for someone else's kid too.  Which is a terrible thing.  So when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:39, I was like, shit!!! 

And even though I was still in my pj pants and shockingly, bra-less (don't judge me!  I didn't get around to the shower at that point for some reason!), I ran out the door bare foot, grabbing my sweatshirt as I went. I rarely have to actually get out of the car at pick up, so I thought I was OK.  Either way, there was no way for me to go change and put on a bra - so I took the gamble on being that mom who shows up in such a mortifying state of affairs that you pretend you don't know her.

So I frantically pulled up to the pick up spot and I was so happy that she wasn't there.  I could see her and her little friend swinging on the school playground swings and I felt myself physically loosening up.  I was all stressed, and I had forgotten that when Brooke has a playdate, I let her swing for a few minutes before she walks down the path to my car.  So they were just swinging along, happy as little clams, no idea that I was late.

Phew!

So as I waited to for the girls to wrap up swinging and make their way down the path to me, I temporarily reset my alarm to go off a few minutes before 11:30 so we don't have such a thing happen again.

Then we came home, had yummy popsicles and lunch, played house, went swimming, jumped on the trampoline, got chill zones... such a good happy summery day.  I hope all of the summer days go like this.  Except for the late part.