Long, busy day

Today started for me at about 3:50. I woke up to go to the bathroom and then couldn't go back to sleep. I layed awake for about 30 minutes before I gave up and started reading. I read until 5:30, when I finally felt tired again (this was all after I didn't make it to bed until nearly midnight). I went back to sleep until the alarm went off at 7:15. FIL was coming over to borrow a couple of our boats at 7:30 and I had to be up and dressed to give him the keys. FIL was running late and didn't get here until 7:45. Bah, I could have slept another 15 minutes. The Boy woke up as I was getting dressed and I told him to just lay still and wait for Ms Thang to wake up and when she did, they could come outside if I wasn't back. FIL showed up and I helped get the boats out and in his truck. We chatted for a few minutes and here come the kids out of the house. I expected jammies, but the TB had gotten both of them dressed. MT wasn't completely pulled together but it was a darn good effort for a 6 year old and a 3 year old working together.

FIL lefted and I fixed MT's clothes. By that time, it was time to get breakfast and head for our big kid playgroup this morning. It was so nice to have kids TB's age to play with. He had a really good time, although MT was little put off by not too many kids her age but that was just too bad. We played there until 10:30, when we came home, refilled our drinks, picked up snacks and Dad and went to our regular playgroup. They had the water on this morning and the kids LOVED playing in it. MT finally said she was cold so we headed home to eat. I had told Quigs that we would be over about noon to help move or watch kiddos but it was noon before we left the park and we still had to eat. TB curled up on the couch and would have fallen asleep if we had just left him alone. MT ate her lunch then actually ASKED to nap. This from the kid who rarely naps without a fight. I decided that life would be better if I let her do it so I put her down for her nap. She fell asleep in nothing flat and I sat in the living with TB and napped in the chair for a bit. RF went ahead and went to help the Quigs clan with the move.

MT got up about 2:15 so we jumped in the car and headed for Quig's fancy new bonus room house Rf and Papa Quigs were knee deep in crib assemblege and I was supposed to watch the kids while she unpacked. They both said how much help we were but I seriously didn't feel it. RF was helpful because putting crap together like that is always a 2 person job but all I did was add two more kids who wanted to be in the way to the mix. Quigs did get some of her kitchen unpacked, which is helpful, I suppose. As thanks for our "help" they treated us to dinner at Ryan's. Poor Bubba didn't get a nap so he was just on the edge of a serious meltdown. PG ate a boat load of mac and cheese and entertained us with her Night at the Roxbury impression.

Now RF and Papa Quigs are going to get their nerd on at "Game Night" at Missy's house and I'm thinking how early I justify going to bed.

Making friends as an adult

I've noticed that I have a rather hard time making friends. I'm too much of a hippy for normal people and I'm too normal for hippy people. Some of you remember my post about leaving my playgroup because I felt like I wasn't alternative enough to be a part of that group anymore. It was nothing that anyone said, just a general feeling from some of the members of the group :( I joined a new play group and I'm not terribly happy with them either. First problem, they almost exclusively have young children. Most of the kids in the group are between birth and maybe 2. As far as I know, C is the oldest kid in the group and Liz is even a little old for most of the kids. In my old playgroup, the kids ranged in age from newborn (because someone was always having a baby LOL) to 15 (although she didn't really come to playgroups so the typical age was around 8 or 10) so there was always someone to play with. There were also like 8 babies born between May and Sept 2005 so there were TONS of kids Lizzie's age. The other problem is that while they have a boat load of meetings, I can't go to most of them because of timing. The ones I do get to go to, I see the same 5-10 people so it isn't really expanding my social circle to any great degree. There is also the issue of paying to be in a playgroup just kills me. I was hoping to meet more moms through the kids but that isn't working so well right now either.

Obviously, I'm not a typical mom. I'm sort of a free spirit (hence the blue hair) and I don't fit conventional SAHM standards. I wear camoflage shorts and Spongebob t-shirts and I have little girl who wears blue t-shirts and has short hair and generally doesn't look like a little girl. All the girls in Lizzie's classes are skirts and done hair and pink pink pink and their moms are the same way.

I've met a couple of cool moms through C's class so that is good, but Lizzie's stuff has been mainly a bust. There are a couple of people that I chat with (and one I would like to know better since she has a girl Lizzie's age and a 1st grader, which would be great and she seems vaguely hippy) but not anybody that I would consider a friend. Maybe the few that I chat with will develop into better friends as we take more of these classes. That would be cool.

One of the mom's in C's class suggested mothers and more. She is a member and she said that most of the members have kindergarteners and younger siblings, so perfect age group. Again, the idea of paying for a playgroup chaps me. She said the database and local referalls are worth it so I might have to check it out.

Hm

I'm hungry. We ate dinner super early because we had a b-day party to attend at normal dinner time. The party was fun and the kids had a great time running around the park with all the other kids. This is the only time I have missed my old playgroup since I have left. The new group has lots of young kids and hardly anyone for C to play with. He hates doing anything with them so we generally don't go to stuff unless he is at school. Even then, Liz is almost too old for most of the other kids :( Ah well, I like all the moms I've met and even being a freak, I feel like part of the group so I'm better off at least. Talk about selfish :)

I feel like I should start tagging my entries in this journal. I can't scrap, although I actually feel slightly motivated tonight (talk about perverse LOL) so I should set about tagging things, either here or the few things I've dled in ACDsee.

Uh, there was something else, but now I don't remember. I think I'm going to play video games instead of something productive :)

Oscar the Grouch

Or possibly grumpy from either the 7 Dwarfs or the Carebears is me tonight. I made a pissy comment about allergies on my playgroup list and got a bunch of flack over it. I've felt less and less like I belong in this group recently and I think this was the final straw. I don't regret what I said, I just regret that it was the tipping point and will likely cause me to leave the group. It is a great local resource, full of what I used to think were like minded moms. There are still plenty of people that I like and get along with, I just don't feel like my practices are in line with the group ideals any longer. It is for "natural families" and I don't do any of that stuff anymore. Lizzie didn't nurse past 6 months, I gave up on cloth diapers, I don't buy organic, I'm not veggie (and have no interest in being), I don't homeschool, I vax to some degree, C is circed etc, etc, etc. I've always been kind of the odd mad out. Another mom and I are about the soggiest of the bunch, but since she WOH and has 4 kids she is crazy busy and we never get to hang out. We have a playgroup tomorrow but it is going to be too hot so I doubt I will go. The group has a website and I might monitor that once in awhile to see what is happening.

Now, I'm left finding people to hang out with again. I've searched yahoo groups and came up with squat. I tried goggling as well and came up with meetup.com which charges $2 a month or moms and more that charges like $45 a year. I don't really want to pay to go to a playgroup but I need friends. I'm hoping that once C starts school, I'll meet some other parents and then it won't matter. If not, I might just have to suck it up and pay for one of the other groups.

Apparently, I'm a bad person. What - the hell - ever. I don't need that crap.

Anyway, next post should be less gripy and more fun because it will have pictures of my cool new centers that are set up and ready to use! I'm going to do a "math" center as well, if I can figure out where to put it. I'm going to put sorting bears, unifix cubes and file folder games in it. It will be fun :)