Out of House & Home
No I did not fall off the face of the earth. I am being held hostage. By teenagers. Hungry. Emotional. Hormonal. Teenagers.
As you know, there are a variety of reasons why I made the move to Vashon (instead of somewhere else in Seattle) but the biggest factor was moving closer to Paige’s school and friends. It got to the point where Paige was on the island every single weekend and it seemed like I never got to see her. Ever.
So I moved to an island and things are a bit topsy turvy around these parts. But in a good way. Sorta. My old schedule has been thrown under the bus and I haven’t gotten into a good rhythm yet. Plus, Paige has been around a lot these days – she hasn’t spent the night at anyone else’s house all month. In fact, she actually hasn’t been anywhere all month. SHE IS AT HOME ALL OF THE TIME.
Don’t get me wrong, I love our new family dynamic. But it also means that I am constantly in Mommy mode. And it is exhausting. As much as I missed having Paige around when we lived in Seattle – I did appreciate that from time to time I could come home wasted and anticipate a hangover while Paige was at a sleepover. Not that I did that all of the time, but it’s always a good thing to have in your pocket when you are contemplating that third or sixth beer.
Plus, it hasn’t been just her around here. In the last few weeks, every single one of her girlfriends has spent the night at our house. Or been over for dinner. Or for study dates. Or for no reason at all. Herds of them. I half expect that a teenager will pop up from behind the couch at any given moment shouting, “I’M HUNGRY! FEED ME!”
Here’s an example of the volume of food that’s running through our house on the weekend – 9 kids over for dinner and 4 girls spending the night:
4 large pizzas
18 cans of soda
2 quarts of juice
2 jumbo bags of potato chips
1 gallon of ice cream
1 – 12 inch round birthday cake
1 dozen chocolate cupcakes
1 dozen blueberry muffins
1 pound of bacon
Yeah, it was a birthday party but they really do eat this much on other nights.
So lately, when I come home it’s like I am punching in for the 2nd shift – kitchen duty. When it was just Paige and I, I could give her a fruit roll up and some Goldfish crackers and pass that off as dinner. But heaven help us if we don’t have a balanced meal when we have company over! God forbid that there are any outside witnesses to those eight o’clock dinners over the sink! We eat home cooked meals every night of the week now.
I know. I know. I shouldn’t worry about it. It’s just that it’s early in the game and I don’t know anyone here and I definitely don’t want to be known as that single mother whose got a frozen pizza in the oven as she sips on bourbon and cokes while watching The Real Housewives (Bethenny is engaged!) on Bravo. This is a small island, after all. (Okay, maybe I don’t watch TRH, but the other two are true.)
But enough is enough. I am determined to get back to writing and blogging on a regular basis (really! I promise!) and back to the old exercise routine. And the dieting. And sending my kid off to other people’s houses.
But for now, in this moment in time, we are living the life that we always wished for and things are exactly how they should to be.
Tags: finding happiness, paige, vashon
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Daily. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
13 Responses to “Out of House & Home”
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What a move! Glad to see you’re back to blogging.. hope to see you again soon!
.-= alice´s last blog ..Skillet Cornbread Recipe {via The Pioneer Woman} =-.
Stay sane. Really. You’re awesome! =)
.-= Thankful Blogger´s last blog ..Rule #1: Return policy =-.
This is making me hungry ^_^ Haha.
Also, welcome back & once again — your daughter is beautiful!
.-= Desiree Fawn´s last blog ..Yes They Are =-.
Okay, everything made sense to me in the list of food consumed except…only ONE pound of bacon? Amateurs!
Just teasing.
AS we move into an apartment this weekend, I’m going to be going through the same growing pains. I’m used to the kids scarfing down a meal and heading for the door, promising to be back from so-and-so’s house before dark. Ahh, the good old days.
Somehow we always manage to adapt to these changes. Change is good! (My new mantra.) We just need time.
.-= Nicki´s last blog ..Get the shunt out of here! =-.
Holy moly, that’s a lot of food! I have to say, I love Paige’s “I’m hungry! Feed me!” face in that picture — I can’t tell if she’s just putting it on for show or absolutely serious in her gaze. It’s good to see that girls these days aren’t afraid to eat, either — I’ve always been a girl with an appetite surrounded by girls who eat half their salad and claim they’re watching their girlish figure. Yeah, I’m watching my figure, too — but I’m also not letting myself starve, thanks.
Glad to see you post. I was getting a bit bacon-deprived.
I love that first picture! Enjoy your settling in
.-= Bobbi´s last blog ..Running out of Fall =-.
Awwww, Paige is adorable! And I’m glad things are going well in Vashon.
I seemed to have the feeding-the-neighborhood problem when my son was much younger, but since he’s been attending a school on the other side of the metro area, and his close friends there all live 15-20 miles from where we do, it’s no longer an issue. While I can’t afford to feed herds of kids I would love for him to have more buddies to hang out with outside of school.
.-= Sharyn´s last blog ..Navigating Strange Territory =-.
I’m so jealous, how sad is that? I would loooooovee if my daughter wanted to bring her friends home. She’s always at the other girls homes, I think I must have unknown stink about me. Anyhoo, enjoy them while they’re around.
Paige’s eyes are so striking and powerful. I hope she uses them for good and not evil. Kidding, but they are beautiful.
My 20 year old brother has been living with us, and man that kid can throw back the food. He has doubled our grocery bill. He eats as much as my husband, my daughter and I eat combined. It’s amazing.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Contact Page and Blogroll =-.
Love the comparison shots and how you placed them in the post. Fun!
.-= Marivic´s last blog ..Super Mario Brothers =-.
Aww..sounds like Paige & her friends are having so much fun.
.-= Asianmommy´s last blog ..Happy Halloween! =-.
This makes me so very afraid of when my four kiddos will all be teenagers at the same time!!! They eat us out of house and home NOW, I can’t imagine how much more they’ll eat in 5 or 6 years!!
.-= CraezieLady´s last blog ..For Your Amusement…! =-.
Sounds life is…. normal…????
How about adding Paige to cooking duty? Or cooking together? Or, even better, making her and her friends cook?
.-= Nurit -1 Family. Friendly. Food.´s last blog ..Pumpkin banana creamy dreamy dessert =-.