Two Girls For Mama: June 2012

Wow, my calendar is less packed but the days don’t seem to be less busy.

School gets out on June 7th then we immediately (as in same day!) head to Disneyland.

I’m less excited this time than when the girls were younger. They seem less excited too. Not talking about it as much as when they were smaller. This will likely be our last visit in a long time.

I’m splurging on hot lunch for the remainder of the school year. My kids do not get hot lunch normally. Private school hot lunch is very pricey. None of this subsidized or volume discount given to public schools. We pay a minimum of $4.70 for a regular (there is also large which is more) size lunch, which includes drink, entrée, fruit, and dessert. All organic, no preservatives type food too which adds to the high cost. It’s better than the Lunchables I was sending for awhile though.

We are going to a family wedding this weekend in Sparks, Nevada. My cousin’s son (so cousin once removed?) is marrying his sweetheart of 3 years. We’re all looking forward to the big event and spending time with family. My usual dilemma for these types of events is what to wear? I have waited till the last possible minute to decide on the clothing for my family. Todd will say “what am I wearing?” and the kids too.

This is an outdoor wedding (backyard backs up against a golf course) so I need to check weather.com for updates on that. Last weekend it snowed in Tahoe which isn’t totally far from Sparks. Ugh.

My dad is giving us his car. It’s a 1996 Buick Regal. Don’t be jealous now. It doesn’t even have A/C. Well it does, but the A/C doesn’t work. My dad bought a newer car and rather than donate it my mom suggested he offer it to us. Todd is going to drive the car home from their house this weekend (after the wedding) and try to fix the A/C. My BIL is “in” refrigeration. Todd will also use the Buick as a commute car instead of his diesel truck. I don’t do no A/C or windows down so that’s why he gets the car. Both my Odyssey and the truck get the same gas mileage. Plus, I’m carpooling with a coworker. See below for this update.

I’m carpooling to and from work with my manager. To some this may seem awkward, but we’re making it work. It was also his idea. He lives 15 minutes from my house and on the way to work. I drop off my girls to school then swing by his house. I text him as I leave school so he has an idea of my timing. We trade off on driving different days. We act very “business-y” at work but our car commute talk goes everywhere. Today we were talking about work bathroom stories. Swear. People of all cultures live in the Bay Area. Different cultures have strange bathroom habits.

He told me how an East Indian man literally removed his pants and hung them on the hook while he sat down to do his business. The gap in the doors were large enough where my manager could see the pants I guess. And this happened on more than one occasion. I told him at my past job people would stand on the toilet seat and squat, like they do in their own country. Facilities had to make a sign telling people to stop standing on the seats since it left shoe marks. I know right?! People complained about the shoe marks. It didn’t stop so security then checked this particular bathroom when people left. I have more stories but I’ll spare you today. One was so bad it made me gag.

We were just invited today to join some friends in Yosemite. A large group goes every year and some of the group can’t go which opened up some pre-booked rooms. They stay in the Yosemite Lodge. We would normally camp, but we’ve never been to Yosemite yet. Todd and I have, but not with the kids. I was actually looking to go over Labor Day Weekend but this trip is in early July. The thing is, the lodge, which I’ve seen online isn’t much more than a Motel 6 because it’s outdated, musty, etc, is over $200/night. Also, I’m super low on vacation time. New job = not much time off.

The thing is the reason I was planning this trip already is because 2 fathers from our school died within a week of each other for totally separate reasons. Stroke and heart attack. I feel the need to do some of my bucket list items and Yosemite with my family is one of those items.

Over Memorial Day weekend we camped in Santa Cruz at the KOA. While there we visited an aquarium run by USCS. This place was great, inexpensive and entertaining. Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab. We touched a some sharks, looked at various water creatures, saw a swell shark egg case. I didn’t even know sharks gave birth to a “pod” with the baby inside first. Super cool. There was a creature with 15,000 legs. Yes, I’m serious. Afterwards we ate lunch on the Santa Cruz pier. The restaurant we choose, Dolphin’s, wasn’t that great so next time we’ll hit another place, but the overall experience was enjoyable.