HatcherHome

This morning I woke up, like normal, and did my morning work out routines. As the morning goes along I find that I am less and less able to stand up-right. I thought I had a gas bubble. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t just not ‘show up’ for work- even after Scotty’s threats that I better stay home (should have listened!). After getting sick twice I head for the door for my all important meeting first thing. I get to school and quickly realize I might have made a very big mistake. After being asked if I was pregnant by two teachers, I realize I might just need to be heading back to bed sooner than later. I had originally planned on going to my meeting and figuring out what to do with my kids and then coming back home. Luckily, the secretary said she would take care of it all. I never made it to the meeting because I thought the parent had not shown up. Turns out, they were in a different room! Good thing I didn’t go though because I would have had to rudely run out of the room mid-meeting! Thank God for the small things!! So as I am heading back to my car in a slow run with my hand clutched to my mouth I quickly realize I just might not make it to the car! I ignore the ‘Hi Mrs. Hatcher!” as I run to my car. With seconds to spare I might it out of site with just enough time to save face!! I am currently at home on the futon with a pug on each side wishing me well. With a quick nap and some reality T.V. I am starting to recover and no longer wishing for death.

Last Saturday I played in an alumni basketball game. The only enjoyable experience was seeing old faces! These were faces I have not seen since the last day of high school. Walking into the gym was a weird feeling. Everything looked a little smaller, and the girls we were playing looked like babies. Although, I think we all looked like the same spring chickens we were 10 years ago! The night before the big game Scotty made us a warm-up tape of Jock Jams. Sadly, at the game Scotty and Nick realized that some of our old favs came out before the girls we were playing against were even born! Not a good start! Anyway, so we did our usual run around the court to the warm up tape to find half the girls sweating profusely doubled over with their hands on their knees. I of course was not one of them! There were 16 of us girls on the alumni team and the game was a one 20 minute half. This means we each get 5 minutes of play. True to form, I was in the last group, BUT let me explain!! I RSVPed for this event as a ‘maybe’ and therefore my name was not on the original roster when they made the groups. Because, as we all know, I otherwise would have been on the starting team! Right!! Well needless to say the 5 minute intervals became 4 because we just aren’t in the shape that we were 10 years ago. Well we are in a shape, just not the same one as before! Time to go for a run!! End result: The Varsity team beat the alumnis by about 20. Hey, at least we scored (twice I think!).

First of all, this is a face only a mother could love! Especially when she sees it at 4:00 am! On Thanksgiving morning I was awaken by a faint whimper coming from the laundry room. This Thanksgiving we are in a beautiful home in Palm Springs. This home, by the way, is no dogs allowed without a $1,000 deposit. Thinking our dogs are perfect, we don’t feel the need to inform anyone of their stay. Anyway, back to the faint whimper. I decide to go check on things as I can just imagine my dear Kooper snacking on some floor board. I stand at the door and hear nothing. I decide to go back to bed. Just as I reenter the REM sleep (you know the good kind of sleep where you start to dream) and I hear a loud bang. It appears that my walking back to bed and closing the door signaled to Kooper that someone was awake and surely wanted to play! After throwing himself into the wall and screaming a few times I decided to check in on the kids. As I open the door the two pugs dart down the hall, round the corner to the kitchen, and start wrestling. Someone forgot to tell them it was 4:00 am!!! After an accident in the master bed room earlier in the night, Scotty thinks we better take them out. I volunteered to do it, but Scotty did not feel comfortable with me walking around the gated/guarded community of Palm Springs alone! What a sweet guy! So after our walk we come home and as I have my head digging through the doggy bag for a treat, my husband has disappeared. Although he promised we would do this together, he was not able to maintain his stamina and he went back to bed! I, on the other hand, stayed up and did homework. Each room was visited by the pugs that morning as everyone slept without a bother. Just when I thought I might have been hearing that all important clock ticking– it just became very quiet!

Last Friday my husband calls me (semi-frantically, it would sound) telling me that I needed to drop everything and come home. He told me he had a surprise for me and I had to be home within a few minutes for it to ‘work.’ Okay, okay I admit. I thought it was a weekend get-a-way and that I needed to get home so that we could get on the road and miss traffic. I pack up all the things I had planned on working on that afternoon figuring I could work on it in the car with my wireless access to the Internet on my cute pink laptop. I pull through the gates (yes, we have gates in prestigious Oceanside!) and I see my husband chasing after OUR two nephews laughing as they try and manage the ravage pugs! What a great surprise!! I was so excited, because I knew what this meant… Babysitting!! I know babysitting is so not PC because they are not babies after all. They are boys! 10 and 8, they are ready to take on challenges and demonstrate their independence by staying overnight at Uncle Scotty and AUNT Tiff’s. I have been begging Scotty to let us have a sleep over. He has always said we could do it, but it was never a good time between their rigid soccer schedules and our happy hour engagements. Well this time, it just worked out!

That night we went to Ralph’s and picked up candy, ice-cream, popcorn (thank God we didn’t get to it!), coke, and sprite. We decided to forgo any ‘real’ food because we decided ordering pizza would be a great idea. If anyone is looking to gain a few pounds and loose a little coloring in the face, eat this diet for just one night!! Wow! I am not one to eat healthy, but I think I rolled myself into bed that night! After freezing the chocolate candy, making a rootbeer/coke float, and eating what felt like a whole pizza, we sat on the couch and watch Jake play about 4 hours of the same Wii game. He finally got bored and changed games. Ian, what a sweet boy, was more interested in cheering on his older brother rather than getting in on the action. Funny thing is, Scotty and I were exactly the same way!! The three of us sat on the little couch while Jake sprawled out on the big couch and practically beat all of our Wii games! What a great and productive evening- you’re welcome Kelly and Will!!!

Saturday morning we woke at 8:00 (keep in mind we went to bed at 1:00a.m.-okay, so what, I am getting old!) and we are feeling a little guilty for sleeping in. Naive me thought they couldn’t possibly be awake after staying up so late playing video games. Jake swears they ‘had’ to get up early because Kooper was snacking on his bone and Jinx was hogging all the blankets! We decided to let the boys play a little more video games (and let Tiff take a shower and recover) and then go to breakfast. We convinced Scotty that breakfast on the pier at Ruby’s was just the right way to end our adventure. We all had specialty burgers and chocolate shakes (Ian had a butterfinger) to wash it all down. As we all floated back to the car we realized that we made it! Thanks to Kelly and Will for trusting Scotty and I to take on the boys! They were perfect little gentlemen and are welcome back anytime… just no more candy!!

** Click on our super cute picture to see a video **

When the average person thinks of Happy Hour they probably think of drinks with the coworkers on Friday evening. Scotty and I have a different view of what Happy Hour entails. Being a teacher there are days that are more stressful than others- I’m sure systems analysits feel the same pressure!! There are days that feel endless and days that feel just too short. Today, surprisingly, was one where I accomplished more than I expected. Come 2:30 (45 minutes shy of the fog horn signaling another day is done) I reflected on my accomplishments. In one day I attended a meeting, met with a parent, taught a language arts group, nearly completed two student reports, and created sub plans for the following day- phew! Usually in a day’s time I can complete one of these highly involved tasks. Luckily on Wednesday I get some free time to catch up on ‘paperwork.’ I decided to reflect on my accomplishments by sending my husband an update on just how awesome I was. He too shared stories of just how great his day was. We decided to reward our efforts at Happy Hour at El Torito. In heading out to El Torito we had to take the in-law’s Cadi to make sure that the battery (and other vital organs) were still functioning. I secretly think Scotty loves taking the Cadi because it glides like a pontoon boat on a calm lake. To my surprise we made it to Happy Hour on time- considering Scotty thought we had a flat tire.
Happy Hour: who thought of Happy Hour and what was their mission? First, Happy Hour never lasts one hour. I personally appreciate that it is not just one hour- sometimes service takes that long for the first drink! Second, I am convinced restaurants lower the prices of adult beverages so that you stay and drink more because it is cheaper to stay than to go home and drink your own supply! Luckily Scotty and I are responsible and sincerely go for the food prices. Tonight we shared a quesadilla (amazing by the way!) and boneless buffalo wings. Okay, so buffalo wings in a Mexican restaurant is a little weird, but they were very good! My loving husband partook in the buffalo wings simply because he knew I loved them!! In about an hour I will hear him popping TUMs. This is what makes marriage work for us. We both love so many of the same things, but in the event that what we love is different (me hot and spicy buffalo wings and he mild and ordinary chicken strips) we order what we think the other will like. A happy SPOUSE is a happy LIFE– who cares if it doesn’t rhyme!?!

-Tiff- Scotty’s loving WIFE