B was adamant about walking to school for "Walk-It Wednesday" (which I'm pretty sure was several weeks ago, but whatever...) so we dropped N off early to go study for his Texas History test (I'm pretty positive he did NOT study) and then circled back around to the neighborhood next to B's school. We creeped through the neighborhood like stalkers until I found a suitable place. He was ready to jump out, but it was entirely too early so he sat there, arguing with me about how it wasn't too early and it wasn't too dark until I played the parent trump card: You can wait until it's time, or I'll drive into the parking lot and you can skip walking to school."
We discussed the crosswalk etiquette, however, I was unable to see him cross since I had already turned onto the side street so I wouldn't be watching him. Because. Hello. Embarrassing. I came home fully intending to study some stuff before my Spanish class, but I found myself curled up in my bed, nested between a jillion pillows. I'll only close my eyes for a few minutes...
And then I had my Saved by the Bell moment. I hear a pounding on the front door and I leap up like a ninja. I run to the door, squinting at the microwave as I pass. WHAT?! 10:50? It was 7:30 like five minutes ago. I open the door as nonchalantly as I can, but since the men outside just heard me crash into it, it was kind of pointless. My favorite maintenance man-child started smirking and laughing. And the fire sprinkler guy just stared. He obviously doesn't understand the incredible depths of my relationship with maintenance man-child. They were here to check my sprinklers. I resisted the urge for an off-color joke (I HAD just woken up, after all...my brain wasn't firing on all however many cylinders it's supposed to have cylinders) and begged them to come back in 20 minutes so I could shower and get ready for class.
Because...I mean...who wants to try to wash and condition when they KNOW the only thing separating them from men who are unfamiliar is a bathroom door? Actually, I didn't care about that at all, but I had a Backstreet Boys song in my head and I knew I was going to be belting it, so I didn't want an audience.
I headed to class, totally dejected because my professor had just emailed us saying when our class would meet next semester...which is coincidentally the exact ONLY time I have to be on an entirely different campus. I'm at a loss here. I definitely don't want to take another professor because that would totally mess with the whole continuity factor. And I don't want to not take a full load at the other school because I need it for my grants. SO, I either skip a semester (which is terrible to do with a foreign language) or I rearrange my schedule so I can take it. I already hit her with "What if I enroll and don't actually come to class but come to tutoring after class and then it can kind of count because I'll still be here on Tuesdays and Thursdays" and she shot it down. Sweetly. And politely. With a giggle. And an eyeroll. We were meant to be pals, I'm telling you.
After that, I had a few errands to run before I picked B up from school, so I shot off to the library (I started listening to a book on cd on my way to Houston earlier this month, and it's pretty much the only time I have to "read" anything for entertainment and it was almost over, so I went to grab another one. I think I picked a bad one...) and then to Walgreens to pick up his meds. He uses so many meds. These were just nose sprays (he does two of them, twice a day), but they're vital to his ability to breathe and function. And then it was pretty much time to wait for B, so I parked, turned up the volume, and half-listened while I stressed about class schedules, thinking I should be looking up different classes, but not having any of the information with me. Also, my signal near the boys' schools is terrible. I think that's on purpose.
I made something really terrible for dinner tonight. It wasn't terrible and the boys used to beg me to make it twice a week, but I think they burned themselves out on it. We had sausage, mac & cheese, green beans and baked beans because B isn't a fan of green beans (although he will eat them) and N isn't a fan of baked beans (and will gag if you try to make him try one or two...every.single.time.). This used to be a "go-to" because they liked it and it was super quick and easy. Not so much. They apparently have developed much more sophisticated palates. Or something.
Then, we went to the store, where B made the terrible choice to bet against me about something he was sure we didn't have in the pantry.
The terms:
Mine: If I win, you go to bed at 7:30 for the rest of the week.
His: If I win, I get unlimited Xbox time, and I can play outside until bedtime at 9:00 and I get ice cream for dessert every single day.
We shook, and right after we did, N came back to reality and asked what B bet about. It was about Chex Mix and whether we have the "normal" blue bag in the pantry or just the "disgusting" black bag (bold mix). N's eyes got really big (mine were dancing, I just know it!) and he said, "NOOOOOO! B, you NEVER bet against Mom. She'll never bet if she doesn't know she's going to win. Besides, I saw the blue bag in the pantry when I was getting a snack earlier. It was on the top shelf."
So, B got mad and embarrassed and tried to accuse me of cheating, but when I made him get in bed before 8:00, I said, "What did you learn today, B?"
"I learned my mom lies to win."
Not the lesson I was going for...so I left the room as he shrieked for me to come back, and when I finally went back in, I told him to apologize and asked the question again.
"I learned never to bet against mom because she'll always win...even.if.she.has.to.cheat."
Again, not what I was going for, but I asked him about the cheating thing, and he seems to be adamant about how I snuck a bag of Chex Mix into our groceries this evening. Since each of us was holding 1-2 things in the checkout line: Milk, 1/2 & 1/2, Watermelon and Mixed fruit cups, I'm not quite sure how that works, but I explained how important it was to NOT declare his mother a liar.
He relented, apologized, and then...
"So...can I have some Chex Mix?"
Aubs
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