Boring

Life has become quite boring.  That is generally a good thing, but it doesn't really make for blog fodder.  And we are so very slow at work.  I hate being bored at work.  The days pass so slowly--among other reasons why being slow at work is not a good thing.

We finally changed ISP's because our service through AT&T was ridiculously slow and they don't offer anything faster in our almost-rural neighborhood. DH was reluctant to change because he couldn't bear to give up his 15-year old email address.  I finally put my foot down and told him it was his email address or me--we needed faster internet. The change is stunning.  We can finally stream without poor quality and hiccups every 5 minutes.  And we can stream on multiple devices at once.  Yay!

With our new-found streaming capabilities, I reactivated Netflix.  And started watching Downton Abbey.  Although I've heard much about it, I really had no interest because it looked so very dry. But I was bored and gave it a try and now I am hooked.  I finished off the first season, and just activated a free trial of Hulu Plus so that I can watch the second season, and I am trying very hard to avoid any spoilers. My only complaint is that I HATE the score.  It is so heavy-handed.  It takes me back to my childhood when the Young and the Restless would come on at my grandma's house.  I hated that theme, too. It just seemed to predict sadness.

Along the same lines, I have almost convinced DH to give up cable and move to streaming only.  We watch so little television that it just doesn't justify the $80/month price tag. There are 5 shows that we regularly record on our DVR.  Most of them are available on Hulu, and the remainder we could buy on itunes and still spend less than half what we spend on cable. Has anyone successfully ditched cable for streaming devices?

Other than that, I am a taxi driver.  Last night I had to drop SS at volleyball at 6:30, TT at Girl Scouts at 7:00, pick up SS at 7:30 and drop her off at Girl Scouts, pick up PS at 8:00 from robotics, hit the store for emergency wine and cupcakes, and head back to pick up SS and TT by 8:30 (although, blessedly, their BFF offered them a ride home, which saved that final trip.)  The kids are busy, even if I am not these days.  Poor PS is at school every night until 8:00 preparing for their first robotics competition.  Their robot has to throw a Frisbee at a target while fighting off competing robots.  It is truly amazing what these kids are able to do. Because they are working so late, parents are taking turns taking meals up to the kids.  I think I am going to take a couple of pork roasts and make pulled pork for sandwiches.  Any other suggestions for feeding 30 teenagers?  They are sick of pizza and tacos.  Pasta's been done quite a bit, too.

The good news about busy kids--we have found little pockets of alone time.  On Wednesday nights all of the kids have stuff going on, and we have two hours to go to dinner or have grown-up time in an empty house. Even though the kids are now big enough to leave alone, we don't do it very often because, well, we're usually so busy that we feel like we should spend time with the kids.  But these little pockets of kid-free time because the kids are busy are totally guilt-free.  Yay! So, moms of toddlers, take comfort that someday, many years from now,  your kids will have more active social lives than you, and you will actually be able to eat a complete meal, while it's still hot, without having to cut up anyone's food, and while having an adult conversation. And you won't even have to pay a babysitter.