I have felt like we were on the losing team since January. I have never been a big fan of team sports, but I can imagine now what they must go through. Hoping and praying for a win.

Well, we won! We finally swung the pendulum in our direction. Our kids got into a good school. Its a huge relief and one less thing for us to worry about. We’ve still got our house on the market, because its the right time for us to make a move. So, hopefully, that will work out. No longer do I wake up with deep dread in my soul. We will start them in Hebrew school and help them put down roots that will hopefully last through 8th grade.

All is well with my world. For now.

I am still angry about the whole situation, because it could have been prevented. Looking back, I guess you could say that about any sort of disaster, but this one truly could have been prevented with better management and oversight.

Anyway, fast forward to the final closing of the school’s doors and the start of summer, and I still don’t know where my kids are attending school next year. Which means we are on hold with our lives, trying to navigate the Pinellas County School system.

The worst of this situation is that we are in a very unfortunate area of Pinellas County, one that you don’t want to tell people about. But, the neighborhood is nice. The schools suck. They suck all over Pinellas County, but we are in a specific pocket of suckiness that transcends all other sucky schools. Which means my kids could potentially attend a super sucky school.

So, how did we end up in a terrible school zone? Well, frankly, I’m not sure. I guess you could say that I didn’t think I would be in my house this long, and perhaps my realtor at the time was all too happy to unload us as clients and simply sell us this house. Or, you could say, we were desperate to find a decent house in our price range 7 years ago. We also were pretty certain that we would not be living in our current neighborhood this long. So, what’s our plan to extract our family from the surrounding suckiness?

This is Plan D. We had a plan B and C and we’re on to D now. Plan A was to stay at our beloved private school. But, that failed miserably.

Plan B involved us trying to get into another private school in the area, but they had no room for us. We also were pretty exhausted from our previous private school experience. One that left a very bad taste in our mouths. Plan C was signing up for Open Enrollment in the “Choice” public school system. No such thing. There is no choice, I’ve come to realize. They call it that, but you can’t really choose. Because if you’re kid isn’t entering kindergarten, and you don’t live near the school, you can’t get in unless there is space available. And the “good” (less bad) public schools never have space available, because people never leave them.

So – we’re screwed. Plan D is never going to come about. We’ve had terrible luck so far, and I’m pretty sure we’ll continue this run. What is Plan D? Apply to a local charter school that is so popular, there is a wait list 300+ people long for their current location. They’re opening two more locations, so we’re hoping our kids’ names come up in the lottery. Yep, they’re doing a lottery to select the kids for the K-3 grade classes. See? We’re screwed.

Oh – and by the way, we’re trying to sell our house and move into a better school zone. We’ve had two showings and we’ve been on the market for a week. Keep your fingers crossed. Otherwise, we’re on to Plan E.

I’m so thrilled for my husband, who is launching his own financial services office next week, but, I’ll be on the outside looking in.

We bought a desk and a chair and he’s in a giant office building, too.

One day I’ll have my bright idea, but until then, I will support him in reaching his dreams.

But, I think I finally have something worth sharing.

A friend of mine just recently launched a new business this week - it’s called Smartie Pants Apparel – www.smartiepantsapparel.com – check it out. This isn’t an advertisement for them – ok, maybe a little one. But, I am just so proud and happy for them, and want them to succeed so badly, so I hope you pardon this plug.

I am extremely impressed that in this horrible, rancid (insert negative word here) economy, they had the wherewithal and vision to launch. And, I’m doing everything I can to help them survive – because I believe in them and what they are doing. And, I’m inspired by them, too. 

The back story isn’t spectacular, and it’s been heard before. But they’re friends, so it matters to me. The husband has been recently laid off. They had their house on the market, and had to take it off, because of his job loss. They have two beautiful, bright little girls.

He’s an extremely personable, nice guy and I knew he would land on his feet – he even said he had a lot of offers. But, he decided he wanted to work for himself.

Many of you know that it’s a dream of mine to work for myself one day. I’m hoping I can think of something clever like them, and I hope my family and friends support me in making my dream a reality.

So, while my bright idea continues to elude me, I will live vicariously through my friend, and be inspired by him and hope you will be too.

For those of you who are sick of my holiday rants, let me just say, I’m blaming this on Penelope. She rants every year and I think I’m not completely off base for wanting to add my own two cents. But I know you’re sick to death of hearing me complain, so just look away, because here it comes.

It began with the Chanukkah countdown.

S and D began counting down right around Thanksgiving. It was very cute – you’d think they won the lottery – because they couldn’t wait to open their presents. Mission accomplished, right? At this point, they were in love with Chanukkah.

And then the lights went up in the neighborhood. And it was the end of the love affair.

All I’ve heard from my Jewish Day School-enrolled kids is why everyone in the world celebrates Christmas and why they can’t have a Chanukkah tree like grandpa…hmmm.

So, I did my best – for the entire holiday – to outdo Christmas. We were neck-in-neck, too. Every night, with each present, Chanukkah scored. Every night, with every Christmas light, Chanukkah lost. Every day, with the Chanukkah channel on XM radio, Chanukkah won. Every night, with every Christmas light, Chanukkah lost. And, I was exhausted by the time we lit the last candle.

I know I can’t compete, but we try so hard to show them how wonderful the Jewish holidays are and why they should be proud to be Jewish, it just hurts when I hear them say they wish they could celebrate Christmas. I never felt left out when I was growing up, so I guess I don’t understand. Next year, I’ll have to up the ante. Or just lock them in their rooms for a month.

We had a good long discussion about whether it’s ok to friend your exes – boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, etc. He seemed to be ok with me friending ex-boyfriends - props to him – and I told him I was totally fine with him friending ex-girlfriends. Truly – I was so magnanimous - I just glowed.

And yet, I am still not comfortable with ex-boyfriends tracking me down. Something about ex-boyfriends who are married with kids tracking down ex-girlfriends to friend just seems kind of slimy and weird to me. Maybe it’s just me. So, I’m taking it to the street (all 3 of you who read this – thank you very much): If your husband or wife friended an ex on Facebook – would you be ok with it?

He is also a prolific author. He has written many, many books. And they are highly acclaimed. And, yet, I am just not on board with his little book, the dip. It was a melange of too many ideas and rambled on in various directions, seemingly stating the same thing over and over. It was about knowing when to quit. I can’t help but wonder if he should have taken his own advice with this one.

I have never written a book and don’t even know where to begin, so I have the utmost respect for anyone who is published. I just find it amusing that he admitted it was hard to write a small book – at the end of the book - and yet, there it is.

Anyway, my point in this diatribe is not to knock my hero. I’m actually looking for recommendations for someone to read. Any suggestions?

Sophie and D are super excited, too, and they are at the best age to appreciate all that is Disney. I didn’t think I would be on board again – after doing this three years in a row – but I’m definitely counting down. Don’t get me wrong – I would much rather be poolside in the South of France sipping something deliciously alcoholic, but I’ll accept Disney as the substitute. For now.

So when you all have finished eating everything in sight, until you can’t breathe or move, think of me. I’ll be joyfully waiting in line for the Dumbo ride.

Anyone else out there getting hunted down by ex’s? Ex-friends, lovers, boyfriends, girlfriends, bosses, co-workers?