Pump It Up it is

I awoke around 7:30 with a full bladder and a desire to get to Arlington Urgent Care before it got crowded. I showered, let out the dog, turned off the pool filter, watered the plants, fed the dog and the fish, drank more water and headed out the door just after 8 a.m. Dr. Nguyen confirmed my suspicion about the UTI. Thankfully, the antibiotic he prescribed has the $4.00 generic so I was in luck. I returned home, by way of Wal-Mart grocery store where I picked up my prescription and some baking supplies for Alisa's cake, ate a bowl of cereal and swallowed down the first of ten awful tablets.
It was around 10:30 when I arrived at home, and I was expecting everyone to have already eaten breakfast, but they had not. The watched me eat my bowl of cereal and got the hint that I had no intention of cooking. I think Aaron asked if I was cooking, and I told him his Daddy would fix him breakfast. He went directly for the cereal cabinet. After everyone had found something to fill their bellies, I decided it was time to put together a plan for Alisa's big day. I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday. We normally have cake and ice cream for family on the actual birthday (no matter the day of the week) then party with a few friends on a Friday or Saturday. Alisa said she didn't want to do anything at our house. That stung a little, but I can certainly understand. I explained that we simply could not afford to do the hotel thing right now. Why spend $100 on a hotel room for a couple of girls for a single night when she needs at least $100 worth of clothes and uniforms for the upcoming school year? I gave her the options of taking her girlfriends to Pump It Up then the park for lunch and cupcakes or Stovall water park with snacks & cupcakes. She opted for the Pump It Up from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday followed by lunch at the park. For those of you without kids, Pump It Up is a huge warehouse full of "inflatables" the kids can run around, bounce on, slide down, climb up, etc. With that settled I need to call parents and see who all can come. I'm thinking a couple of the girls may have to spend the night on Tuesday in order for us to get to the warehouse on time Wednesday morning, so Alisa may get her "slumber party" wish as well (even though it is in her cluttered home vs some swank hotel room).
Next order of business involves a telephone call from Sister Shannon. Tiwanna, the sister of Shan's friend Rocky, is getting married Saturday and needs a wedding cake. When Shan originally mentioned this, it was just supposed to be a "single layer" cake for a real small party. Now it has grown to 50 guests, so Shannon would like two tiers. I told Shannon I would do the cakes: a 10-inch and an 8-inch. That way it will look more "wedding-like" and feed more people. Before we got off of the phone Shannon was suggesting that we do 3 tiers so Tiwanna would have the small cake to save. How I allow myself to get roped into this type of mess everytime is beyond me! I needed a nap after that.
Tia picked up Alisa to take her shopping for her birthday. Mike & Aaron were...you guessed it watching movies, and I laid down for a nap. The rest of the day was pretty calm. Alisa returned with a bag of cute outfits. Mike vacuumed the pool & Aaron swam for a bit. I baked Alisa's cake & cupcakes, washed dishes, and fixed dinner--nothing special (chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes & steamed broccoli with a little leftover corn mixed in). I'm trying not to go to the grocery store until I know what Mike's paycheck will look like next week. Mike has been biting at the bit to eat at a Chinese buffet the whole time he's been off. Maybe we'll do that tomorrow for A's birthday dinner then come home and have cake & ice cream...just a thought.
Mike's sister called and told us his family reunion was in full swing at Lake Arlington and why didn't we come. He totally blew her off claiming by the time we got dressed and went out there they would be packing up. How long does it take to slip into some blue jean shorts and a t-shirt and drive 15 minutes to the lake? Honestly, I just don't understand how one person can be so unconcerned about anything in life but being absolutely lazy! I definitely understand the desire to not have any commitments or obligations while on vacation, but sheesh Mike takes it to a whole new level. I asked him if he'd called his father the whole while he was off. No. Had he been by to see his mother? No. Had he even called to schedule his massage (we gave him a certificate for his birthday, and he said he wanted to use it while he was on vacation)? No. I personally cannot live like that. It's extremely difficult for me to understand how he does it, but alas, I try to bite my tongue and accept him for who he is (including his way of doing things). It is an arduous and frustrating task to say the very least!
For years (and I do mean years) I have tried to convince Mike and the kids that we should take a few days to do some serious cleaning, purging, clearing of clutter, etc. Mike has four weeks off throughout the year. Rarely are we all off from school/work at the same time, but this vacation was a prime opportunity since we didn't end up going anywhere. I mentioned this fact to Mike today, and he looked completely taken by surprise. Clean the house?! I don't remember you mentioning anything about cleaning the house. What did you want us to do? Just tell me what you want me to do after you take your nap. That sounds like a sweet offer to anyone just happening to read this blog, but I know better. It'll be just like everything else. He's busy watching Malcolm X right now so he'll get to it tomorrow. Then tomorrow will come, and he will get a call from his brother and figure he'd better go see Mama since he hasn't done that in a couple of weeks. He'll stay gone most of the afternoon. Then Monday he'll remember to call the massage school and schedule his massage. Lucky for him they will have just one opening left for that afternoon. Naturally, he'll shower and take a nap prior to going for his massage, and surely he won't want to put his relaxed muscles to work afterward. Then comes Tuesday, the day before he returns to work. That is traditionally a day of rest in anticipation of returning his nose to the grindstone. He will then ask me to put together a list of things I want him to do on his next off days. Sometimes, I wish I didn't know my own family so well. C'est la vie. Good night. Until the next time...