Another hectic day...

I had a hectic day today. After going to bed way past midnight, I managed to get up at 6 this morning. I knew I had to get up and put the clothes in the dryer (my daughter needed her uniform, which I didn't put to wash until late last night).

As a school assignment, my daughter had to present a recipe for her class. She picked "arroz con leche" (rice with milk). I thought easy! You boil the rice, add the milk, lower the heat, simmer, add sugar and cinnamom to taste and presto, it's done!

When it would get cold outside, my mom used to make it for us when we were kids and we loved it. You can have it as a hot breakfast or as a snack/desert. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to prepare. I'm not sure what went wrong but it took us a little over an hour before the arroz con leche was finally cooked! I put some in a container for my daughter to take to school. By then, I had to rush to get the kids and myself ready. When I finally walked out the door, I took the bus to the train station so I woudn't miss my train. And just as I reached the station, the train was already there. I ran down the ramp as fast as I could to try to catch it before it took off. I actually broke a sweat! This is becoming a regular thing for me. It's the only exercise I get! The train conductor was nice enough to wait for me and a couple other people that were running behind me. Most conductors don't even bother. Even if they see you getting close, they leave. I hate that! When I reached for the doors, I was gasping for air. I could barely say "thank you". I'm huffing and puffing trying to catch my breath. I could feel the sweat running down my back! Phew! I made it! If I continue doing this every day, I may lose a pound or two!

At work, it's always the same old thing. Everything is urgent! Just as I was getting things done, we had a fire drill. We all got ready and left our desks, walked one floor down the stairwell and stood by hallway next to the elevators until they told us we can go back to our desks. The only good thing about that interruption was the fireman...oooh, was he hot! He explained to us what to do in case of a real fire and my mind started to wonder... yes, I was thinking fire... it was more like...baby, come put out my fire!

Just as I was getting started on another project, I had to leave my desk for a 30 minute training class. The instructor was having trouble with the computer she was working on so she couldn't demonstrate some of the things she wanted to show us. And to boot, the computer I was on did not work either! What the hell! So by the time we moved ahead, the training course ended being be a whole hour. What a waste of time! My boss didn't seem too happy when I came back to my desk. He already had another big pile ready for me to send out immediately. Now I had to rush to get those things done before I left work. And of course, today I had to leave earlier than usual because I had to go to the parent/teacher conference at school.

When I arrived at school, I was right on time and so was my husband. That's a first for him. He's always running late! We met with my daughter's SS teacher. He was very nice. Even though her overall grade in that class was a B-, he was concerned that her tests scores were very low. He showed us the answers given on her test which gave us the impression that she did not understand the question. "She may have trouble with comprehension," he said. Once or twice a week, she's taken out of class to go see Mr. Z, an English teacher who helps her with her assignments. I was hoping that this was not going to be the case, as she was not too keen about this. We explained to her that once she showed us she can improve her test scores and grades, she will not have to go to Mr. Z anymore. But in the meantime, she will do so and we will also be working with her in trying to encourage and guide her.

All in all, the teachers had good things to say about my kids. But the reality is my daughter needs extra help. I wonder if, just to be on the safe side, I should take her to a learning center to get her tested?