Posts Tagged ‘Family’

Anybody there?

(tap, tap)

Hello?

Helllllloo?

HELLLOOOOO????

(tap, tap)

Bueller?  Bueller?

Oh, imaginary friends, how I’ve missed you so!  We have never been separated so long before and I do have to say that absence definitely does make the heart grow fonder because I just kept thinking as I sat on the phone with AT&T every day yelling at someone in India about my internet connection not working, “Gosh, I wonder what those crazy imaginary friends are up to these days?”

Though, when I tried to explain to the person in India that I needed them to get my internet working STAT because I had thousands of imaginary friends that I was about to lose if I didn’t talk to them soon, I think they purposefully took longer than necessary to get my internet working again.

DON’T JUDGE ME, AT&T!  DON’T JUDGE ME AND MY IMAGINARY RELATIONSHIP WITH THESE IMAGINARY PEOPLE!

Thankfully, a nice technician came out to our house today and pushed some buttons on the little box doo-hickey thingy on the side of our house and said, “You have internet.”

Then I squealed.

Then I jumped in the pool with Bean Man.

Then he squealed.

But, lo and behold, when I sat down at my computer later today, there was still no internet.  So, I took drastic measures.  I got Chris involved.

Getting Chris involved in problems that require speaking to automated systems is always a last resort because he pitches fits like a little girl (no offense, my masculine hubby wubby…).  But, he’s pretty good about stepping in when I’ve had enough and so today I handed the internet problem over to him.

As we sat on the couch tonight in our uber spacious, uber cozy, uber box-filled living room, Chris called AT&T while I sat next to him stuffing my face with Domino’s and watching the Auburn Mississippi State football game (P.S. It took me three tries to spell Mississippi right when I typed that…) (P.S.S.  I just copied and pasted Mississippi into that last sentence so I wouldn’t have to type it again…) (P.S.S.S. DON’T JUDGE ME, AT&T!).  I could tell he got the automated system because he started speaking incredibly slow, which always throws those automated things off.  So, he kept having to repeat himself.

AT&T Automated System:  Please tell me the reason for your call.

Chris:  Technical support.

AT&T Automated System:  I’m sorry, I did not understand that response.  Please tell me the reason for your call.

Chris:  Tech-ni-cal Sup-port.

AT&T Automated System:  I’m sorry, I did not understand that response.  Please tell me the reason for your call.

Chris:  Problem with my internet connection.

AT&T Automated System:  I’m sorry, I did not understand that response.  Please tell me the reason for your call.

Chris:  I’m having a problem with my in-ter-net con-nec-tion.

AT&T Automated System:  I’m sorry, I did not understand that response.  Please tell me the reason for your call.

Chris:  MY SH*T ISN’T WORKING!!!!!

And that, dear imaginary friends, is why we don’t let Chris talk to automated systems.  That is also how we got our internet restored tonight.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that we have finally moved into our new house and we finally have internet and so I am finally able to talk to you again.  I would love to show you pictures of our new house, but Chris is being a fuddy duddy and won’t let me take any pictures until we get the house looking more organized.  This simply means that I shall wait until he goes to work tomorrow and then I will take pictures and post them to the world wide web.

Speaking of jobs, I still haven’t started mine yet.  Bummer.  But I guess when you’re going to be in a classroom with young adults molding and shaping the minds of tomorrow, they want to make sure you haven’t killed anyone and that you don’t have crack in your back pocket.  So, I did my background check and drug testing this week and pending any problems with those (which would be odd seeing as to how I am afraid of drugs and the only violent behavior I have been prone to is occasionally throwing a Tupperware lid at Chris…), I should start teaching on Monday.  I’m super, super excited.  Super.  Super, super excited.  I even went out today to a teacher supply store and bought decorations for my classroom.  And I may or may not have also bought a black t-shirt with a little red apple on the front pocket…

I cannot confirm nor deny those allegations.

But I did.

Today I also took Bean to meet his new teachers at the daycare where he’ll be going.  I love this daycare.  Love it.  And apparently Bean does, too, because when we got into the classroom he took off and joined the other little dudes for circle time and never even looked around for me.  I just hung back like a lame, hovering parent.  And then I started whispering his name and making him blow me kisses.  And then they suggested that maybe I should wait out in the hallway.  And then I grabbed Bean and ran out of there and hid him under my bed where he will stay until he is either ready to admit that he cannot live without me or until he turns 18 and I can’t legally keep him there any longer.

All in all, it has been a really exciting, nerve-wracking, busy, happy time for our family this past week.  But we are finally getting settled into our new house and with my job starting Monday and Bean heading back to daycare, our schedule should settle down again.

What this means for YOU is that I’m back to my regularly scheduled blogging now.  Every day.  And you can’t make me stop.

So there.

We’ve been at my parent’s house for almost two weeks now.  And we all seem to be adjusting to the situation pretty good, all things considered.

Everyone that is, except Lt. Dan.

Our new fish, Lt. Dan, is turning out to be a royal pain the rear.  Apparently, I have the only demanding beta fish known to man.  From what I can tell, Lt. Dan is upset that he has been moved.  Though, I cannot fathom why.  He has been relocated to the kitchen table in my parent’s kitchen, right next to the bright, big front window.  Who wouldn’t want to sit in the warm sunshine?

Apparently, Lt. Dan.

He is none too happy about this situation.  I know this because he just keeps laying on the rocks in the bottom of his bowl.  There is no swimming, no frolicking, no smiling, no singing.  He just lays there on those rocks.  All.  Day.  Long.

And before you ask (Chris…), yes, he is alive.  When I poke him with the bamboo shoot in his bowl, he suddenly comes to life, thrashing and splashing around as if I have just stabbed him in the heart with a toothpick.  But after his little protest, he drifts to the bottom of his bowl again and resumes his stance on those rocks.

Well, not a stance really.  Cause Lt. Dan ain’t got no legs, remember?

He also seems to be protesting the new fish food we have here.  In the hustle and bustle of the move, I left Lt. Dan’s fish food at our house.  Which isn’t a huge deal because my parents have beta food at their house, too, so I have just been feeding him that.  But I guess Lt. Dan is a food snob now because he is completely opposed to the flakes he now gets, instead of the pellets he had at home.  Perhaps I should go out and buy him the food he prefers, but I’m refraining from that on principle now.

Lt. Dan, you are a fish.  Act like it.  You will eat what I give you or you will die.  Now, get up off those rocks and EAT THESE FISH FOOD FLAKES!

I’m not really that mean to him.  Actually, I’m being overly nice to him, given his awful attitude these days.  He sits right next to my computer and so even as I write this post I am talking to him, soothing him, pointing things out to him.  And yet, he lays there.  On those rocks.  Ungrateful like.

Lt. Dan better get his act together and start swimming around or something here very soon.  Dude’s here to entertain Bean.  And even Bean knows that laying on rocks is not the way he wants to spend a day.

Maybe we should strap him to the back of the golf cart and take him for a joy ride.  That always seems to lift Bean’s spirits.

Well, ain’t it nice to see you all again!  I have missed you!  But I had a much needed little time-out with the fam and we are all in a much better place today.  I guess I should bring you all up to speed because there has been a LOT going on ’round these here parts.

After the break in last weekend, we packed up basically our entire house except for the furniture and went to stay with my parents.  It has been so nice to be here and to feel safe and secure while we make some decisions, instead of making them out of fear or in haste.  The only part that is a little tricky is that it is about an hour and a half drive into Orlando every day for Chris to work and last week, Bean Man and I had lots to take care of, so we were making the trip almost every day, too.  That part is no fun at all, but it’s just part of the arrangement right now and it could be much worse.

The first thing we had to do was figure out the living situation.  We had been holding off on moving because we really couldn’t afford anywhere that was much better than where we were without me having a job.  Which is why we hadn’t moved before.  But, we decided that job or no job, we had to move so we started looking around right away for somewhere else.  Turns out there were some options, but not great ones and though it was frustrating, we were just happy that we had other places to go.

And then, lo and behold, my oldest friend in the whole wide world, Sarah, called me last Tuesday.  She and her husband are both teachers and she told me that her school was looking for someone to teach a class.  Like the Saint that she is, she got me an interview on Wednesday.  After the interview, of course, I headed up to Sarah’s classroom to tell her all about it and as I’m sitting there gushing about some of my answers, in walks the person who interviewed me and she offered me the job.  Right there.  On the spot.

Prayer.  Answered.

I can’t be positive, but I may have started crying when she told me.  But I’m not sure because I was screaming so loudly I wasn’t able to concentrate on my tear ducts.  I can’t tell you where or what I’m teaching because of all that internet-psycho-mumbo-jumbo-safety-stuff, but I can tell you that I am so excited about it.  I’ve never taught before, but I really think I might be good at it.  School starts today, but there is a sub in my class until my temporary teaching certificate comes through.  And actually, that in itself is another blessing because I’ll probably start teaching in a couple weeks which would give us time to move in to our new place.  Commuting every day from two hours away would be really difficult since I have to be there so early in the morning and this way I have time to move before I actually start.

The next task we had to tackle last week was a daycare for Bean Man because he would be really irritated if I hid him under my desk all day.  And – wowza! – did we luck out!  We found a daycare very close to my school that is WONDERFUL!  I want to go there.  It is so clean and bright and all the kids looked happy and healthy and like they were having a really good time.  In Bean’s class, there were 6 other children and they were all his size!  It was a class of kids just like him!  And they were all sitting in little bitty chairs having a snack when we toured the facility, just like little people!  As we stood there, the two teachers helped them CLEAN UP THEIR OWN SNACK (can you imagine Bean cleaning up after himself?  I cannot.) and then move over to circle time where they all sat like little gems in a circle on the floor and watched as the teacher read a book to them.  All I could think was, “Bean is going to have MANNERS!!!!”  Seriously, I thought I had died and gone to daycare heaven.

Prayer.  Answered.

The cost of this daycare is about what we paid in Connecticut, which is a little pricey for this area.  But with my new job, we are able to pay it and we think it is totally worth the extra cost.  I really think Bean is going to love it there and it will be easier for me to go back to work knowing he’s in such a friendly place.

The last piece of the whole puzzle is a house.  With our income more than doubling since I now have a job, we were finally able to look in neighborhoods and at homes that we had imagined us living in all along.  Nothing huge, but nice, clean houses in safe, family-friendly neighborhoods.  And boy did we luck out!  We found a really great house in an older suburb of Orlando that is absolutely perfect.  It isn’t too big, but is comparable to the size of our house in Connecticut which means that – holy moly – we’ll be able to unpack completely for the first time in six months!  And the best part is that the neighborhood is full of families with kids playing outside, people walking dogs, and mothers strolling down sidewalks with their babies.

That’s right.

I said sidewalks.

Prayer.  Answered.

Now, I realize that these things might not be that big of a deal to anyone, but to our family who has lived in the ghetto for the past six months, sidewalks and kids playing outside are HUGE.  We put in our application to rent the house last week and we are hoping to hear this week if we got the house.  If so, we would move in Labor Day weekend and, hopefully, I’d start teaching the week after.

All in all, it’s been a pretty exciting time for our family this past week.  We went from the worst possible situation to the best possible situation in about three days.  I can’t even begin to tell you the roller coaster of emotions we’ve been through.  But through it all, Chris and I have continued to stay positive and have kept talking to each other.  Usually during the day, so much was going on that we wouldn’t really have time to talk too much.  Mostly just checking in with each other and updating the other on things that were happening.  But at night before we went to bed, we’d talk through things.  We’d plan, we’d worry, we’d squeal, but mostly, we’d laugh.  And it was just a reaffirmation to me that I had married the right person.  There’s no one else that could go through something like this with me more perfectly that Chris and I’ve never been more happy to have married my best friend.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go drag my best friend out of bed so he can go to work and bring me home a paycheck.

Best friends are really awesome when they bring home paychecks.