They are idiots.

Or think I am.

Yesterday, I bought Kamryn a new dress from the Gap. It was on sale: $27.99. Not bad. I also bought her matching leggings. When we tried the dress on at home we decided we didn’t really need the leggings so I popped into the Gap (which is in the Mall across from my office building – a five minute walk from my desk; a walk I can make without ever going out of doors. This tidbit will be relevant later in my story) to return the leggings and they were having a sale – 25% off anything already on sale. Hmmm… like the dress I bought yesterday. Luckily there was one still in stock. Identical to the one I had already purchased. Identical size. Identical colour. Luckily I had my receipt with me. Could they give me a price adjustment?

Of course not! That would just make too much sense. Their policy is that they can’t sell me the last in stock item in the store and then have me return it. It wouldn’t be fair. To who? Okay.

So I bought the one that was in the store at the discounted price: $22.50.

I went back to my desk, had my lunch, and worked for a bit and then I went BACK to the Gap.

The saleslady says, “You were in earlier weren’t you?” Ummm ya! “Reason for the return?” she asks.

I point out that it’s now 25% cheaper.

“Oh” she says, “did you buy one at the cheaper price earlier?”

"Yes, I did," I tell her.

“Oh, and now you’re returning the one you bought yesterday.”

“Yes, I am,” I replied (hey lied is part of the word replied). Why they couldn’t have just done a price adjustment is beyond me. We wasted, time, money, paper and for the three hours the dress was in my possession it wasn’t available for anyone else to buy. Moronic.

I can understand not giving a price adjustment if the same article isn’t available for purchase but geez Louise to make me buy it, leave with it and come back later?

This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. The last time though I was able to explain to the clerk how stupid their policy was. This morning I just didn’t have the energy to argue.

Nothin like jumping in with both feet

I've signed up to be a Trainer for the kids' hockey teams. I hate hockey. I can't handle being cold but I have also have a problems with belonging to a volunteer organization and not contributing. This could be interesting. Classes start in two weeks - yup to be a trainer you have to train.

Relaxing Weekend

So Friday my employer gave me a surprise project that would necessitate a minimum 10 hours work over the weekend. Yay! Especially last weekend. What a weekend.

Friday at 6 pm Kamryn had a hockey pre-conditioning session.

I raced out of work to get her there on time. (Daniel was in class.) My mother was generous enough to feed both kids an early dinner for me.

We spent an hour at the rink. Kamryn had fun. We get home to a message on the answering machine from Sam’s grandmother that she is coming up for a visit and should be in town around noon on Saturday. Wonderful. Here is was the planned schedule for Saturday:

10:30 -11:30 Kamryn Piano lesson
12:30 – 1:30 Kamryn hockey evaluations
1:00 – 2:00 Sam soccer
4:00 – 5:00 Sam hockey pre-evaluation skate
6:00 dinner guests

Oh and it was cleaning day! Did I mention none of these activities took place even remotely close to one another and that we only have one car. Nothing could go wrong (ha!).

When Daniel got home he had instructions to call Nana and tell her she could come but she wouldn’t see much of Sam. She decided to come on Sunday instead (remember my minimum 10 hour project?).

Got up early on Saturday – pulled together the raw ingredients for supper – chopped veggies etc. Figured we were in good shape.

Daniel got down to cleaning while I took Kamryn to piano. Piano ran late (it’s a group class) – of course. We left early. At 11:45 I dropped Kamryn off at home so she could eat lunch while I ran to the grocery store for some last minute supper supplies. When I got home at 12:10 (remember nothing can go wrong), Daniel is on the phone yelling at the customer service agent from the gas company. Apparently our hot water heater sprung a rather severe leak. They couldn’t send someone out to look at it until Sunday.

I had to get Kamryn to hockey. Sam had to go to soccer. We have one car.

So we left Daniel at home to try to contain the leak and I took both kids to the rink. Daniel was to join us when he could (using pedal power) and then I would take Sam to soccer (he was SOOOOO excited to be going to soccer. He got up and lay out all his soccer clothes including shin pads and shoes). Got Kamryn on the ice on time. Discovered that there is a girls’ hockey league (they were having evaluations on the adjoining rink). I accidentally signed Kamryn up for boys’ hockey. I saw one single solitary girl besides Kamryn among the hundreds of boys I saw this weekend. Oops. She doesn’t care.

Daniel arrived at 1:00 and Sam and I dashed off — late — to soccer practice. Then back at 2:00 ish to pick Daniel and Kamryn up.

Home for 45 minutes. Have lunch. Mmmmm.

Daniel goes back to work to drain the hot water heater. Suit Sam up in his hockey gear so of course now he won’t fit in his car seat. Kamryn wants to come with us so she sits in his car seat and he sits in her booster (he’s big enough for a booster but we prefer him in a car seat; luckily Kamryn at 7 is still small enough for a car seat). Head off like a madwoman towards the rink – the wrong rink. In the complete opposite direction from where we needed to go. I discover this when on arrival at the wrong rink I pull out my blackberry to google local rinks and my appointment reminder indicates my mistake. Wonderful. Flip around and arrive at the new rink with 1 ½ minutes to spare.

Let me tell you this, 5 year olds in hockey gear – hilarious! 7-year olds are much too serious.

Dash home. Run around like a madwoman pulling the house together. Floors got washed. Carpets didn’t get vacuumed. Two out of three bathrooms got cleaned. Stove, neglected.

Start dinner (luckily the menu was REALLY easy – I’m not a complete fool).

Kids both need a bath. No hot water. So we boil giant kettles of water an haul them upstairs. We can only get water in the big roman tub in the master bath. Something with the way the pipes are rooted in the kids bathroom. Bathe both kids – same time in lukewarm water.

Finish dinner.

Guests are late – woohoo!

Guests arrive. We eat. We drink. We put the children to bed and drink some more. Round midnight the guests leave and I collapse exhausted in bed. As much as I like my friends I was looking at the clock forlornly at 9:30 and wishing them gone.

2 am Sam – living in the house without hot water -- wets his bed. Sigh.

Sunday morning, the sound of Church bells wakes me up. They are blessing school bags in church this morning (bizarre! We had nevertheless planned to take the kids). I asked Daniel what time it was – 10! Lol No Church for us.

Remember that 10 hour project; I haven’t started on? Well it had to wait. Kamryn has a poem to present in class on Tuesday. That took precedence. Poem preparation while I ate breakfast. Then I pulled out a stack of reference material and opened up the laptop – in the dining room where I stayed for the remainder or the day (we have an office but I’ve always been a dining room table type of girl.)

I finished after dinner and collapsed into bed to watch old Star Trek episodes in an attempt to be nice to Daniel.

That’s all.

I'm going to pull Kamryn out of school.

And let her grow up ignorant and illiterate. Yes. This will be my plan.

I'm not going to survive second grade. Kamryn has to read for 15 minutes a day - so far that's the only homework she's had. Real homework starts next week. Oh my lord its been a struggle. Total meltdowns on why she has to read and her 5 year old brother does not. Then, when she is reading - if you try to correct her reading - another total meltdown. Heaven help you if you make her sound out a word and she doesn't do it perfectly and you have to have her try again.

Piano practice is the same.

Sobbing uncontrollably about how she isn't good enough; she can't do it; we don't want to help her; that we're not listening to her (implying that she did it right and we missed it); that life is unfair. BIG emphasis on what is fair.

This isn't new behavior - just amplified, by overtiredness, I expect. She goes to bed early enough (8:00 ish; generally earlier) but I can't stop her from staying awake after early morning pees so she's getting up earlier than I would like.

So that's it. We'll hide her in the basement when the truant officers arrive. We'll turn her into the feral girl. It can't be any worse than what we are dealing with now.