Life In The Fast Lane

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

I feel like I am on the track at Talladega and there is no pit crew and no end in sight.  My life feels like a bit of a rat race.  My calendar is packed and I am pretty much over booked each day.  Life is crazy.  But there is an end–December 9 is going to be a beautiful day.  I can’t wait for it.  Until then I will struggle with homework, grading, family and self.  I’ve been so busy this past week I haven’t been able to fit going into the gym in the morning because I have been up working instead.  I feel like crap and am getting a little crabby.  Bill can’t wait for me to be done with this semester.  And I have to say, I can’t wait either.

Enough of me complaining about the life I have chosen at this point.  Really, I shouldn’t complain.  No one is making me get my PhD or send my kid to private school (hence the working of several jobs), etc.  I have made these choices and if they don’t kill me life will once again be sunny and happy.

Here is the much delayed family vacation post. Highlights and lowlights via bullet points.  I know, I know–but bullet points is all I have in me.

Cruises with kids good.  Babysitting watches them while you can get off the boat.  I know awesome.  We had 4 hours in Key West and 4 in Cozumel w/no kids.  AWESOME.

Snorkeling in Cozumel–Awesome.  Must go diving there.

Miami–ridiculously expensive.  Drinks in SOBE–$25 a piece but they are buy one get on free (for the same person–they only tell you this after you have finished your huge pina colada and margarita and bring you your $125 lunch bill.  Yes, I said Lunch and neither of the kids ate because they fell asleep.

Boat drinks…mmmmmmm….

Room service–awesome

Pizza delivery in Miami–Pizza Rustica.  It rocks

Kids spending time with their uncles–awesome.

Tacos in mexico on the beach–rocking

Tearing swimming suit bottoms while jumping off boat into ocean to snorkel–funny for some–Not for me.  Noah thought it was hilarious and because I only brought on swim suit he kept wanting to see my ripped pants.  Then he’d laugh hysterically.

Listening to Noah correct anyone other than me who said Miami w/the following–“it’s not your ami it’s mommy’s ami”  Hilarious.  He still thinks it My ami.  Love him.

3 hour delay at Miami airport–sucks.  Tired kids who slept on plane ride home–awesome.

Water wings rock–Noah finally tried them and he loved floating and “swimming” on his own.  guess it is time for swim lessons.

Seaweed–Z loved the seaweed in the Atlantic–spent a lot of time collecting it.

Playing in the finals of the blackjack journey–doing better than my bro.

Losing the blackjack tourney–sucked but fun

The best thing of all–Time with the family w/no computer, phone, internet.  It was great.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

will be back next tuesday.  Til then I will be in Miami, Key West, and Cozumel with the family for some much needed r&r.  Even though I have homework to do.

Pics and details when I get back.  Have a great labor day weekend.  Oh yeah–38 not such a bad age.

38-Years-Old

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 6 Comments

Today I celebrate my 38th year, with creaking joints and sore muscles.  I celebrate by working a crappy office job that makes me wish I had paid more attention in high school and gone to college out of high school instead of 7 years later.  I celebrate by teaching students eager to learn and others who don’t participate or even understand their fortune for being able to sit in a class and receive an education (that they are paying for).  I celebrate by going to class and having my mind scrambled with t-test and z-scores, reliability and validity, sample size and standard deviations.  I celebrate by spending money on a new car further reminding me that at 38, I am no where near where I want to be but have everything I have ever wanted and how those two ideas are not related.

I celebrate by thinking about my amazing husband who after all of these years of me being in school and a bit of a bottomless pit of debt (student loans) loves me completely and made me my favorite cake–that he remembered from years ago.  I celebrate with my kids who tell me they love me and hug me and sing to me “happy birthday.”  I celebrate by being thankful and remembering that I am lucky and blessed beyond belief.  I celebrate by knowing there isn’t a debtors prison system anymore.

I celebrate by being the best I can be and accepting that it often isn’t as I wish it could be.  I celebrate by making the tough choices and by doing what I can.

Thank you mom and dad for being reckless teens and thank you grandma and grandpa for making them get married so that I could be here and that I could have the life I do. Without them…I am not.

Not As Easy Today

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 2 Comments

Noah was a little less excited to go to school once we actually got there.  All morning he stood at the ready just waiting for me to make my move to pick up my keys.  We had a bit of a meltdown over a cereal bar that broke…Oh the tragedy.

We park and get out and he’s just fine.  Walking up the full flight of stairs he tells me “I’m going to need a nap after climbing the stairs.”  Then we get to his room and he freezes.  The room itself isn’t quite the hub of excitement it was yesterday on day 1.  Part of that is that over half of the kids in his class only come on T/W/Th.  The school has 3 preschool options–3–1/2 days, 3-full days or 5-full days.  Noah and 5 other kids do the 5 full days everyone else is a 3 time a week.  So the room was a little “bigger” today as there were far less people.  Noah really loves an audience.  He was a little clingy and bit crabby (with mommy).  But he eventually settled down at a table and started working on a puzzle.

I know that this is a big adjustment for him–more so than for anyone else.  He misses his sister a lot.  Yesterday was the first full day that he has been apart from her.  When he went to mom’s day out-that was only for 4 hours two times a week.  This is for 6 hours 5 days a week.  He’ll get comfortable with it eventually.  I know it is harder on me and he barely looked up at me when I left–either out of disdain (I can’t believe you’re going to leave me here) or concentration (can’t you see me working on this puzzle here mom!).

But, I managed to leave him there and will spend the rest of my day thinking about him and hoping that he makes it through the day without incident.