Trying to ruin my kid's life

PS is in her school's robotics club and their first competition is on Saturday. PS has been going into school early and staying late almost every day for the past two weeks working on the robot. A few weeks ago she brought home a release that was required for her to participate in the competition this weekend.

Now, I don't usually mess around with the releases for my kids' activities. But this one contained a broad-form indemnity clause. I'm 90% sure that the form was drafted by a nonlawyer who lifted some legalese from some another document and threw it into this release because it sounded good without any appreciation for the legal effect of the language. So I modified it because there was no way in heck I was giving broad form indemnity, but they still got a very broad release (that I would never agree to if I were negotiating a contract.)

Anyway, today, two days before the competition, PS texted me, "I can't participate in the robotics competition because you modified the form." I know she was furious with me, and I was envisioning her trying not to cry in front of her friends.

So I jumped into mama bear action. First I emailed her teacher for the contact information of the competition organizers. Then I consulted a co-worker who told me just to sign the damn form (and he agreed to defend me if I get sued). Besides, broad-form indemnity isn't enforceable except under very certain circumstances in my state, and this form didn't meet those circumstances. When I didn't hear back from the teacher in an hour, I started searching the internet for the organizers' contact info. I sent sweet-as-pie emails (as opposed to my typical aggressive-lawyer emails) to three different people begging them to allow my daughter to participate.

Everyone I emailed responded by the end of the day and they were all very, very nice and helpful, although I'm sure they all think I'm a crazy helicopter mom. Unfortunately, the form is required by the university hosting the event, so I can't change it (and I really didn't push the issue because I'd rather risk an unreasonable indemnity clause than have PS thinking that I ruined her life.)

So all is good and PS can participate. Let's just hope nothing happens that could trigger that indemnity provision.

Good Weekend

Watched the best baseball game ever Friday night.

Saturday the girls and I volunteered at the pumpkin patch again. I'm so proud of them for being excited about volunteering and being such good helpers (I'll admit that I had some concerns about them getting bored and whiny before the end of our 4-hour shift, but they did great.) It was rainy, but business was still steady.

Then I went home and took a long nap. It was cool and stormy and we had the windows cracked, which made for perfect sleepy weather.

We topped off our Saturday by carving our pumpkins. I hope they hold up for a week, but this was really our only chance. PS has a robotics competition next Saturday (and I have somehow volunteered myself to drive the entire team to the competition an hour away), and there's no way we would have time during the week.

We put on The Goonies (my favorite childhood movie!) and ET while we worked on our pumpkins. I baked cookies while the girls were scooping out the guts, and then we roasted the seeds. Yum!

This morning DH and the girls have gone to church. I think I'll surprise them when they get home with the Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes that I found yesterday and am dying to try.

Then work--blech! But there has been a lot of chaos in the office lately, so I need to do a little catch up.

A week in the life of a working mom

One of my most frequently hit post is entitled A Day in the Life of an Attorney. Unfortunately, that post isn't particularly instructive of what a day in the life of an attorney is actually like. I've been thinking I should update it with a post that is more reflective of what I actually do in a typical day--but there are no typical days, so I'm not sure how to go about that. So you're getting this post instead.

Wed: Get to work at 9ish. Answer email, return telephone calls, research a memo, ignore email from asshat opposing counsel. Leave office at 12:45 to make 1:30 teacher conference in the 'burbs 30 miles away. Despite my pleas that a morning conference was preferred, 1:30 was the only time slot offered by the teacher. Teacher conference over by 2:00. Decide to work the rest of the day from home instead of losing another 1.5 hours of my day to traffic. Accomplish little, but get some quality time with the girls.

Thurs: Attend conference for women in the industry in which I practice (not lawyers). It starts at 7:30 and is 40 miles away. Leave the house at 6:30, terrible traffic, arrive at 8:15. Still hear opening remarks from the Secretary of State. Attend workshops, network. Pick a table for luncheon. It is already set with plates, flatware, dessert, and a tomato-bisque soup topped with a puff pastry. Giant cockroach* crawls across table, women start screaming and flipping out. I flick the roach onto the floor with my program and a man runs up and stomps us. We are moved to a new table.

Conference over at 1:45, I head straight to the Girl Scout store to purchase vests, insignia and handbooks for the twins before their meeting on Friday.

Back in office by 3:00. Read email, return calls, work on response letter to opposing counsel. Stay until 8:30 to make up for my absence the last two days. Head straight to craft store 5 minutes before closing to buy glue for Girl Scout badges. Home by 9:30. Glue badges until 10:15. Collapse into bed.

Friday: Arrive in office by 9ish. Easy day. Work on designation of experts, review documents. Attorney meeting over lunch. Out of meeting, at 2:30, text from nanny that she is sick, can we please come home early. Grab two Redweld's full of documents, Leave office at 2:45, home by 3:30. Wait for PS to get home at 4:15 to go to Target. Out of necessities. Head to Girl Scout meeting at 6:30. Stick around for 30 minutes to help with bracelet making., then leave the girls and go to Costco. Fridge is empty. Pick up girls at 8:30. Go home, watch baseball.

Sat: 9-1 Girls and I volunteer at pumpkin patch benefiting our local library. They don't usually let kids volunteer, but the girls were awesome helpers. Treat them to pizza afterward. Home by 2:30. Take allergy pill. Collapse into 3 hour nap. Force myself awake. Mother-daughter bingo at 6:30 for Girl Scouts. Home by 9:30.

Sun: Errand day. Twins need jeans, must buy supplies to build bats for their bat research project, need groceries beyond what I bought at Costco, need frames for my federal admission certificates because bosses are complaining about the bareness of my office walls. Home by 4:00. Start pre-cooking meals for this week. Make dinner. Help kids with bats. Order reef-friendly sunscreen and snorkel gear for cruise. 7:00 watch the Amazing Race and Desperate Housewives. 9:00 start preparing for depo on Monday. 12:00 give up and go to bed.

Monday: Up at 5:45 to finish prepping for depo set for 10:00. Arrive at office at 8:15 Deponent is a no-show. Chat with court reporter--learn he is my long-lost twin. We are from same Hometown, went to same high school and same college with same major. Review email, return phone calls. Analyze procedural rule. Start drafting discovery. Review documents. 1:00 deponent suddenly shows up. He was sent three notices for the same day because he is the representative of three different entities, and only read one of them. Get court reporter back to the office and proceed with depo. Done by 5:00. Depos exhaust me. Leave office by 6:00.

Tues: Arrive at office by 9ish. Analyze motion from opposing counsel. Legal research regarding response. Prepare scheduling order. Conference call with client. Conference call with another client. Leave office at 3:30 to work at Legal Aid clinic. All family law clients. I do not practice family law, but don't think I screwed anything up too badly. Done by 5:30. Head home for dinner with girls. Review folders, read spelling words. DH has bowling. PS cheering at football game at 7:00. Home by 9:30. Watch baseball. Collapse into bed at the bottom of the ninth.

Wed: Take PS to ortho appt at 8:00, arrive at office by 9:30. Draft discovery. Respond to email. File third-party petition. Clean office and hang frames before event at office tomorrow. One of the frames mysteriously broke overnight. Leave office at 5:15 to attend teacher conference at 6:15. Home by 6:45. Air conditioner making terrible noise. DH investigates while I start dinner. Done by 8:00. Air conditioner still making terrible noise. Must go to store to replace broken frame before firm event tomorrow. Home by 8:30. Blog while watching Survivor.

This week is not entirely typical. I had a lot of appointments that pulled me out of the office early. I usually work until 6ish and have maybe one late night a week. But otherwise, this is pretty close to a typical week.

*You have not seen a cockroach until you have been to the south. Also known as water bugs or palmetto bugs, these suckers are 2 inches long, the fly and they make creepy clicking noises.

Finally, some good news this week

So back in this post I was complaining that our nanny turnover was going to cause problems with the cruise we had booked in November. Our new nanny is a high school student, and while she is great for a few hours in the evening, there is no chance in heck that I am leaving my kids with her while I leave the country.

So I looked into changing our cruise around before the final payment was due, but I really, really like our itinerary. In the end, I made the payment and left the cruise as it was booked. My plan was to try to come up with some kind of reliable child care option, and if that didn't work out we would just take the darn kids.

After much pondering, we finally decided to ask our grandmotherly neighbor if she had any interest in watching the girls for us. We told her there was no pressure and to think about it. Tonight she called back and agreed to do it! Woohoo!

Our regular nanny will pick the girls up from school as usually and stay until about 8 when they are getting ready for bed. Then she'll hand off to the neighbor, who will watch them overnight--either at our house or hers.

I have been super stressed about this, and I am so glad that the neighbor agreed. I feel much more comfortable leaving the girls with her than any other option I could come up with, and it's super convenient, since she's right next door.

And our passports showed up yesterday. It finally feels like this is all coming together.

So I forgot about the part of fall that I don't love...

Allergies. I don't get the snotty, runny, sneezey allergies. I get them in my eyes. Every year at about this time my eyes completely dry out. My contacts feel like rocks in my eyes. Wearing my glasses isn't much better.

Reading is torture. Reading a computer screen is worse. This is not a good thing in my line of work, where 90% of my day is spent reading, mostly on a computer.

For several years in a row I visited my eye doctor about this time. He was of little help, advising me to take OTC eye drops. They don't help for more than 5 minutes.

So once again I am suffering. Don't know how to make it better, and will be glad when the fall allergy season passes.

I Love Fall

It's my favorite season. Gone with the hotter-than-hell summer, in with brisk mornings and perfect afternoons complimented by clear blue skies.

I can finally bring out my tall boots, tweed skirts and cozy sweaters.

There's football. Even PS's middle school games are enjoyable on a cool fall night, with the lights shining bright, eating nachos and Frito pie.

And the fall holidays are the best. Halloween is all about fun--crazy costumes, lots of candy, tacky decorations, carving pumpkins. This year we have volunteered to work at our town's pumpkin patch, which benefits our local library. The kids are so excited, and I'm glad to see them psyched about volunteer work.

And then Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. It's just about being thankful for what you have. And food. I love Thanksgiving food. I love cooking Thanksgiving food. I love not having the pressure of buying the perfect gift. And you don't even have to go to church.

And then there's the fair--the kickoff of fall. Every year my kids get a random day off from school for "fair day." Today was that day. We haven't actually gone the the fair in several years, but this year DH and I played hooky from work and took the girls to the fair.

We just walked around and ate. And ate. And ate. We tried chicken fried bacon (looks and sounds disgusting, but was actually quite delicious. But thank goodness we were splitting it 5 ways, because I'm sure that any single person consuming an entire serving would suffer an instant heart attack.) We tried Fried Frito Pie (ok, not sure it was worth the very long line). And corn dogs (the best corn dogs in the world are at the fair), funnel cakes, tornado taters, cotton candy.

Overall, a very good day (well, except for the part where TT got pooped on by a bird. She was a little traumatized, but I'm sure she'll be laughing about it by tomorrow) and a nice midweek break.

I'm so happy it's fall.

Russian Jewish Weddings Rock

The ceremony was lovely and the reception was awesome. We were among the few non-Russians in attendance, and the Russians at our table were very nice about explaining everything to us.

The tables for the reception were overflowing with hors d'oeuvres when we arrived. But I didn't recognize anything on the table--except for shrimp and caviar, and I don't care for seafood. I am not an adventurous eater, so I picked to most innocuous looking thing to start off with. It turned out to be beef tongue. I have never been so happy as when the bread basket finally arrived.

And every table had its own (big) bottle of vodka. And cognac. And wine. And shot glasses for toasts. (Trivia tidbit: Russians chase their vodka with pickles. I actually liked the pickle chaser.)

And there were lots of vodka toasts. The Russians kept telling us that us that we did not have to try to keep up with them. And I made the fatal mistake of taking that as a challenge.

Most of the toasts were in Russian and the wedding singer spoke in Russian about half the time, and sang in Russian 90% of the time.

I think the highlight was finally getting to do the Hava Nagila.

We had a great time--right up until I started seeing double. Yes, literally. I told DH that I needed to go back to the room--and that was a perfectly timed exit.

Turns out, I can't keep up with Russians and their vodka toasts. I'm horrified that I got so smashed. I'm a little too old for drinking to excess. And now I'm paying for it with the second hangover in my 35 years. (Children, both of my two hangovers were created in controlled situations where neither me nor my companions would be driving at all.)

So I totally feel like crap today, but it was hands down, the most fun wedding I have ever attended. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Russian wedding, I highly recommend it--but if you're not Russian, don't even try to keep up with the vodka toasts.