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Friday, December 19, 2008

Six more days till Christmas

I was able to take off work today and be a part of Z's field trip to the bowling alley.  Ok, it's not really a "field trip" in the true sense of the phrase, but it was their last day of school before Christmas vacation, and the teachers wanted them to do something more fun than a party in the classroom.  For five bucks, it was the best deal around.  The kids had a blast!

The day started out with Mass first, where Zach had a speaking part for the first time.  He was picked to do one of four petitions, where prayers are asked for specific people or circumstances.  His was to pray for the sick, especially one of the fellow students from St. Louis who is recovering from heart surgery (poor girl!), that they get the help that they need.  He did a great job!  Had it memorized, never stammered, and looked as comfortable as could be up in front of hundreds of people.  I asked him later if he was ever nervous, and he gave it some thought, then said, "no" as he shrugged his shoulders.  We've always known we had an attention-lover on our hands.

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Saying his petition.

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"Let us pray to the Lord."

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They made them sing two songs during Mass as well.
I don't understand why they make them wear dumb hats like that.
Another Mom told me she wouldn't have bothered to get up 
at 6:00am and roll her daughter's hair if she had known they'd be putting these hats on.

He was feeling good and ready to bowl after Mass was over, so he & Jacob, one of his good friends & also the principal's kid, rode with me in my car.  Jacob is hysterical, so listening to them in the backseat was a hoot.  

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Once we got to the bowling alley, we were lucky to have an end lane, AND have only three kids bowling.  (Some of the other lanes had up to six kids on them.)  I'm not sure how we lucked out, but they were able to squeeze in an extra game because they could go so quickly, and they loved that.  The kindergartner's are assigned an 8th grade buddy at the beginning of the year, and the 8th graders got to escort us on the field trip.  The teachers said that the 8th graders were in charge of everything for the kindergartners, from getting their bowling shoes, to supplying snacks when they got hungry.  The Moms & Dads who came along were "off duty".  Hooray!  It's safe to say, ALL the parents loved that!

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Zach listening intently to his 8th grade buddy.

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Zach & his BFF, Khoa.
(Khoa was on the adjoining lane, which thrilled them both to death.)

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Zach, in action.

It was a really good day for everyone there.  The parents got to lounge around & visit, the kids got to run around & not be in class - a win win situation for sure.  The only ones who seemingly got screwed were the 8th grade buddies.  Having to spend their last day before Christmas break tending to a bunch of needy, hyper 6-year olds ... yikes.  After the bowling trip was through, Zach had early release & we headed home to have lunch with Dad.

After lunch & after Aaron headed off to work, Zach watched a Speed Racer cartoon marathon for two hours, then we headed out to brave the Christmas crowds & shop a little.  Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as we assumed it would be, and we had a lot of fun looking for gifts.  We only had a few left to get, so there was no real pressure, and that was nice.  We bounced between Target, Crate & Barrel, the outlet mall, and Half Price Books, which wiped us both out by the time we were done.  We finally arrived back home at 9:00pm and realized how tired we actually were.  We played about 30 minutes of "scientists" (a game we made up), then I read him a book, and he passed out.  I'm not far off from passing out myself.

I have to note though, before I go, how awful I ate today.  This will be almost like a confession, a cleansing of the soul, so bear with me.  We had lunch at McDonald's, and dinner at Jack In The Box.  ARGH!  I don't eat fast food very often, let alone twice in one day.  I can almost feel my arteries struggling to function normally.  And the worst part of it all was I ordered the absolute worst f***ing things I could get my hands on.  I could've easily ordered a salad at McD's, but no, I went for the BIG MAC.  Wha ... ?  Then at Jack In The Box, I got the Jumbo Jack with cheese, and Bacon Potato Cheddar Wedges on the side.  Seriously?  It's like I had a death wish.  This is some stock footage of what my dinner looked like tonight:

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Only the hot mess on the bottom.
I avoided the protein packed chicken on top.  Of course.

Feeling ill yet?  I am.  Sheesh.  I don't know what came over me today, but apparently I was rebelling subconsciously against something bigger than me.  My stomach is just churning right now, and I know I'll be paying for this gluttonous day in a matter of hours.  I feel dirty, like I took part in some foul, shameful deed.  I deserve all the stomach issues & acid reflux that's coming my way.  I vow, here & now, to never eat this way again.  At least in one 24-hour period.

[burp]

So, I will close for now & list the things I was grateful for today:

1.  My son's sense of humor.
2.  Pepto-Bismol, in pill form.
3.  My bed, albeit old and in desperate need of a new mattress.  
     It still feels pretty darn good on nights when I'm this pooped.

Until next time ... 

1 comment:

Becca or Cori depending :) said...

Your lunch looked okay.. but those fries.. Yikes. My tummy hurts just looking at those bad boys. I hope you get some sleep!