This, That and The Other Thing (revisited)

Oh dear bloggy world! What in the world have I been doing that I haven't blogged since August 22? Well...suffice it to say, I've been busy. So here's what I've been up to:
1. Letting Shadow in the house and out of the house. He is the perpetual "inny-outy" dog of all time. If he's in, he wants out and if he's out...in. He truly has some annoying ways about him. Oh and this..for some BIZARRE reason, when he wants to go out, you have to step out and hold the door open for him. As if I'm a doorman at the Ritz! It doesn't matter if it's 3 in the morning, pouring rain, sunny or if he has to poop so bad he's going to explode. Then he walks through as if he's entering Narnia for the first time. Tentative. As if it's a whole new backyard, not the same one he has been frequenting for 8 months straight. Like we are sending him to a gas chamber...which very well might happen if he doesn't quit chewing on the outside of the house. Ahem.
2. I've spent countless hours shuttling the Big D's forgotten items to his school. His ID badge, planner, books, running clothes. Luckily it's a 10 minute drive round trip but still....the only place to park is the faux handicapped slot. This is the parking stall that USED to be handicapped as referenced by the wheelchair painted on the pavement which has been eradicated in blue paint. It always freaks me out though...does that mean it isn't for the handicapped anymore and I can park there without repercussion or does it mean someone's stencil slipped when they were repainting the slot and everyone is going to think I'm a jerk. All this over a forgotten pair of running shorts.
3. The oven repair. My oven on my brand new stove quit working about 6 months after we purchased it. It only heats on Convection and only to 350 degrees after about 1 1/2 hours. SO....finally 6 months later I called the repair man and he came out and said the broiler element was burned out. He would order a new one and it would be in after a month. It's been two weeks and it's in (hallelujah) but the only time frame they can give me for installation is a 5 hour span. Can you be available between 8 and 1? I can't fathom that they can't pin it down to a shorter span. It is like saying...can you be home non-stop, never leaving, never having to go run an errand, never walk away from the phone because you just might miss our 15 minute prior to arrival courtesy call....for a whole day? That's bizarre to me.
4. Volleyball which has never NOT been the focus of our lives, has ramped up to become our very breath. The gatorade, inhalers, clean sox, clean spandex, uniform which CANNOT go in the dryer and stinky knee pads are never ending. If the washer isn't running and damp volleyball clothes aren't hanging, their is a problem.

I guess that's the long and short of it. Today I finally feel like I can take a breath. The long Labor Day weekend is going to be nice. Tomorrow we have a Cross Country meet (Big D) in the morning and then it's nothing until Tuesday. Should be wonderful!